The Broken Ones
by iheartfinchel0
Summary: AU: He was the damaged guy with a troubled past. She was the innocent girl with big hopes and dreams. They shouldn't work, but somehow they do.
1. Chapter 1

Jake Puckerman. How would one begin to describe Jake Puckerman? Well, if you asked a random student at William McKinley High School, they probably wouldn't give you a very detailed answer. That's because no one really knew Jake Puckerman. He was a mystery to the whole school. The one thing that everyone pretty much knew was that he drove a motorcycle and was late to class all the time. Sometimes he never even showed up to school. Sure, people thought he was bad kid who didn't care about school, but nobody knew about his dark past that's been following him around for almost his whole life. One person, however, was about to find out.

* * *

Marley Rose stepped out of her mother's car on a cold, windy Monday morning. She shivered violently, as she wasn't used to the harsh weather in Lima yet. Marley had just moved to Lima, Ohio from Los Angeles, due to her mom's new job. She was hardly thrilled. Los Angeles was always her home. Lima was nothing compared to the palm trees and the sunny beaches of the west coast.

"Are you sure you know where you're going, sweety?" Ms. Rose gently asked after Marley closed the door.

"I can find my way," Marley hissed. She instantly regretted it. It wasn't her mother's fault that her new job was halfway across the country. "I'm sorry mom, I didn't mean to be rude."

"It's okay, honey. I know you're going through a lot." Ms. Rose smiled. Just try to have fun this year. You're a senior. It wouldn't kill you to loosen up a bit."

"Thanks, mom," Marley laughed. "See you at home." With that, Ms. Rose drove away, leaving Marley standing in front of her new school all alone.

* * *

"Um, excuse me? Can you tell me where the office is?" Marley asked a girl in a cheerleader uniform once she entered the school.

The girl rolled her eyes and kept on walking, like she didn't even hear her.

_Wow, that was rude. Was everybody at this school like that?_ Marley silently wondered.

After a couple minutes of walking around and asking students, she finally found the main office. She didn't realize the school was this huge.

"Hi, how can I help you?" The secretary asked.

"Um, my name's Marley Rose. I'm not really sure where I'm supposed to go."

"Oh, Marley! You're the new student! We've been waiting for you!"

_Creepy_, Marley thought.

"Here's your class schedule, and you're locker number," the secretary said, handing Marley some papers. "Your first class starts in five minutes."

"Thank you," Marley said as she walked out of the office. At least someone at this school was nice. She turned the corner, looking for her locker, when suddenly she bumped into something hard.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Marley said as she bent down to pick up the papers she dropped. "I didn't see you there."

The boy she bumped into grumbled something about how she should watch where she's going, and walked away.

Even though she only caught a glimpse of the boy's face, she was strangely affected by it. She wanted to know more about this guy, even though he was pretty rude to her.

* * *

Marley walked into her first period class and groaned audibly. It was European History, her absolute worst subject.

As soon as Marley finished introducing herself to the class, the teacher made her sit in the back of the room, next to a pretty Asian girl. "Hi, I'm Marley Rose," she said, reaching out to shake the Asian girl's hand.

"Tina Cohen-Chang," the girl answered back, gripping Marley's hand lightly. "Nice to meet you." She smiled.

"So, what are you guys learning about now?" Marley asked, a little concerned that since the class was already two months into the school year, she wouldn't be able to catch up.

"The Holocaust," Tina said. "Don't worry. We just started the unit. You're not that far behind."

"Thanks. So..." Marley said, looking around the class, "are there any fun things to do in Lima?"

"Where are you from?"

"Los Angeles."

"Ah. City girl." Tina nodded. "Well, the malls aren't quite as fabulous and expensive, and there aren't any beaches, but you can still find some fun things to keep you busy."

"Like what?"

"There's The Lima Bean. It's the coffee shop here."

"Is it like Starbucks?" Marley asked hopefully. Man, she would do anything for a Starbucks right now.

"What's Starbucks?" Tina asked innocently.

Marley gasped. Like, she actually gasped out loud. "How could you not know what Starbucks is?"

"Well, I mean the only coffee place we have here is The Lima Bean, and I've never been out of Lima before," Tina explained.

"Well, the next time I go back to LA, you're coming with me, and i'm getting you a Starbucks coffee," Marley said.

"You would seriously take me to LA?" Tina asked in astonishment.

"Yeah, of course. I've never really had a friend before," Marley confessed. "It's nice."

Tina smiled so big, the corners of her mouth almost touched her ears. "I've never had a real friend either."

"Hey, would you want to come over to my house after school today? I kinda need help unpacking my stuff."

"Yeah, I'd love to!" Tina exclaimed. She was about to say something else, when the teacher cleared her throat and glared at the two girls. Marley actually forgot she was in European History class for a couple minutes. She was having way too much fun with her new best friend. Maybe this school wouldn't be too bad after all.

* * *

**So, do you like it so far? Sorry this chapter was so short; the rest of them will be much longer. The first couple of chapters are more about Marley, and her experience first moving to Lima, but Jake will be in the picture very soon. Stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, so just so you guys know, this story is going to be rated a high T, for language. And by the way, the characters in this story, especially Jake, are going to be very OOC.**

* * *

That day after school, Marley took her new best friend Tina to her house. Tina was jumping up and down all excited and giddy, and they hadn't even reached Marley's house yet.

"Mom, I'm home!" Marley called when she and Tina finally arrived at the Roses' home.

"Marles! How was school? How was your first-oh! Who's this?" Ms. Rose eyed Tina, looking at Marley for an explanation.

"Mom, this is my new friend, Tina. Tina, this is my mom."

"It's nice to meet you, Marley's Mom," Tina said awkwardly, shaking the older woman's hand.

"Oh, sweety, you can call me Millie," Ms. Rose said. "In fact, I don't care what you call me. I'm just glad my little Marles found herself a friend."

"Mom!" Marley whispered, her cheeks getting red.

"Sorry, sorry," Millie laughed. "Why don't you two head up to Marley's room. I'll go make some brownies for you."

"Thanks, mom." Marley beamed. "See you in a bit."

"It was nice meeting you!" Tina added.

"Come on, let's go." Marley grabbed Tina's sleeve, and pulled her up to her room.

* * *

"Do you have a Facebook account?" Tina asked while she and Marley were munching on the brownies Ms. Rose made for the girls earlier.

"No. I'm not really one for social networking."

"Well, now that you're at a new school, you should make an account. It makes it easier for people to know who you are," Tina explained.

"Okay, I'll make one." Marley grabbed her laptop and powered it up. She loaded Facebook's main page, and started typing in her information. She paused for a second. "Are you sure I should do this?"

"Yes!" Tina shouted.

"Okay, okay, remind me never to make you angry," Marley mumbled. Once she finished putting all her information in, she pressed enter, and her new account appeared.

"Let's friend people," Tina said excitedly.

"But nobody even knows me." Marley frowned.

"Marley, you won't be 'the new girl' forever. In a week, people will know who you are."

"Yeah, I guess," Marley mumbled, and stared at the list of unfamiliar names under William McKinley High School Students. "I don't know who any of these people are."

Tina took control of the laptop. "Oh, you know him! That's Artie Abrams. He's the one in the wheelchair."

"Oh yeah. I'll friend him. Okay, who's that?"

"Sam Evans. The one with the huge lips. People usually call him 'Trouty Mouth.'"

"Friend. What about her?"

"Brittany S. Pierce. Blonde...Cheerio...Ditzy."

"Oh yeah, she seemed nice. Friend. Him?"

"Oh, uh..." Tina suddenly got all quiet.

"What? Who is he?" Marley stared at this mystery guy's profile picture. It was a motorcycle.

"His name's Jake Puckerman. I'll give you some advice. Don't ever speak to him."

"Why not?"

"He's just...different," Tina said, not knowing how to explain Jake. No one really knew how to explain Jake. "He's not the kind of guy you would want to be hanging around. He's dangerous."

"I think he's the guy who I accidently knocked into earlier," Marley said.

"Wait, hold up. You knocked into him, and you lived to tell the tale?"

"What?"

"I'm surprised he didn't murder you right there for even looking in his eyes," Tina said.

"That's crazy. He would never murder me. I don't even know who he is. And besides, it was an accident. I didn't mean to bump into him."

"Well just to be safe, don't ever talk to him again," Tina warned.

"He can't be that bad," Marley said.

"It's your funeral." Tina shrugged. "But it's your choice." She smiled.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything that would get me in trouble."

"Okay, good. I don't want to lose my first best friend." Tina hugged Marley.

"I don't want to lose you either," Marley mumbled into Tina's back as they hugged.

"Okay," Marley sighed when they broke apart. "Who should I friend next?"

* * *

The next day, Marley walked into her biology class. She hadn't taken biology at her old school, so she was put into this class that was full of sophomores. Marley took the only available seat, which was next to a guy who had his head down on the table. Great. Now she would have to work all alone.

"Um, excuse me?" Marley poked lightly at the guy's jacket. "Do you know what we're supposed to be doing?"

The guy rose his head up and glared at Marley. "Does it look like I know what's going on?"

_Crap_, Marley thought. It was Jake Puckerman.

"Um, uh...Nevermind," Marley stuttered. After everything Tina said about him, she was slightly scared.

Jake groaned and put his head back on the table. "Thanks for waking me up."

"Well to be fair, you're not supposed to be sleeping in class."

Jake rose his head from the table once again and smirked. "And who are you to tell me that?"

"My name's Marley. Marley Rose," she said nervously.

"Jake Puckerman. I'm sure you've heard the rumours."

"What rumours?

"All the bad stuff people have been saying about me."

"Are they true?"

"It's not really any of your business, Marley Rose."

"Right." Marley looked down at her hands, almost disappointed. She genuinely wanted to know more about Jake, and why everyone thought he was such a bad guy. To her, he seemed almost nice. Her thoughts were interrupted by the bell for lunch. She got up and headed to the lunchroom to meet Tina, sneaking a glance at Jake from the corner of her eye. Now she desperately wanted to know more about Jake. She didn't know how she would do it, but somehow Marley Rose would crack the hard shell surrounding Jake Puckerman. She just hoped she wouldn't lose her best friend in the process.

* * *

**So there won't be as many quick updates like this; I just wanted to add another chapter today to keep you guys interested. The next chapter should be up maybe Saturday. Thanks for reading, and I hope you like it so far! I have so many things planned for this story! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! So this is going to be the last update for a little while. I'm going to New York on Tuesday, and won't be back until late Sunday night, so the next chapter will probably be uploaded next Tuesday or Wednesday. Anyways, hope you all like this chapter :)**

* * *

"I think you should find a guy to date," Tina said ubruptly while she and Marley were eating lunch.

"Tina, I've been in Lima not even a week. I don't think I really need a boyfriend yet."

"Oh, come on, It'll be fun!" Tina clapped her hands together.

"Do _you_ have your eye on someone?"

Tina's face instantly reddened. "Oh, it's no one."

"Well now you have to tell me. Come on, who is it?"

"Okay, fine," Tina huffed. "His name's Mike Chang."

"Oh yeah, he's in my Spanish class. He's pretty cute." Marley smiled.

"Back off him, he's mine," Tina growled.

"Relax, Tina. I'm definitely not interested in him. But I know that you are, so you should go talk to him."

Tina's eyes went wide. "No way! I can never do that."

"What if I talked to him for you?" Marley suggested.

Tina thought about it for a moment. "I guess you could do that," she finally said.

"Good!" Marley squealed. "Let's go get you a boyfriend!" She was so happy that the focus wasn't on herself anymore. The last thing Marley wanted Tina finding out was that she might be the tiniest bit interested in Jake Puckerman.

* * *

"I don't think I'm ready for this," Tina moaned as she fidgeted with the lock on her locker the next morning. "What if he doesn't like me back?"

"Okay, Tina, listen to me," Marley grabbed the girl's shoulders and shook them lightly. "You're pretty. You're smart. He's into the same stuff as you are. You guys are a perfect match."

Tina wasn't looking so convinced, though. She just looked like she was about to throw up.

"I'm going to go talk to him, okay? I'll be right back."

Tina nodded quickly and anxiously waited as Marley walked over to where Mike and his friends were hanging out.

"Hey, uh, Mike? Can I talk to you?" Marley asked, interrupting whatever conversation Mike and his friends were having. She recognized Sam and Blaine from some of her other classes.

"Uh, yeah sure." Mike sounded a little surprised.

"Are you, uh, dating anyone right now?" Marley came right out and asked.

"Look Marley, I'm flattered and all, but-"

"Oh, no, not me," Marley made a face, "my friend Tina kinda has a big crush on you. She wanted me to tell you."

"Tina likes me?" Mike asked in disbelief.

"Um, yeah. So do you like her, or..."

A huge grin appeared on the boy's face. "Yeah, I totally like her. I never thought she liked me back though."

"Well she does, so you guys should go talk. She's right over there." Marley pointed to Tina, who was nervously picking at the nail polish on her fingernails, waiting for her best friend to get back.

"Great! Thanks," Mike shouted as he walked towards Tina. Marley watched Mike approaching her. Once Tina's face broke out into a huge smile, Marley knew that Mike told her how he felt. She was so happy for her best friend, but to tell the truth, she did feel a little lonely.

What she didn't notice, however, was Jake Puckerman standing a couple feet away, who had heard Marley and Mike's whole conversation. He then walked back to the parking lot to find his motorcycle, a tiny smile still on his face. There was something about this girl. He just didn't know what.

* * *

Jake walked into biology class 20 minutes late again for the third time this week.

"Ah, Mr. Puckerman, so nice of you to join us," the teacher said sarcastically.

Jake rolled his eyes and walked to his seat next to Marley. Marley wanted to ask him why he was late all the time to class, but held back. She didn't want him to dislike her even more.

"You know," Jake started to say, startling Marley a bit, "I saw what you did for your friend. Asking her crush if he likes her. It was a nice thing to do."

"Oh, it was nothing." Marley waved her hand. "Just helping a friend out, you know?"

"No, I don't really know. I don't have friends," Jake said coldly. "All they do is stab you in the back."

"I'm sure not all friends do that."

"We'll the one friend I had did."

"What happened?" Marley asked before she could stop herself.

"It's not something I want to talk about."

"I understand," Marley said quietly. "But if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here."

Jake looked at Marley In a way she couldn't even describe. He was smiling at her, but this time the smile actually reached his eyes, unlike the one time he smiled at her before.

"Thanks," he said. "Your friend's lucky to have someone like you."

Marley smiled back at him. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

Marley found herself standing outside in the parking lot sometime after school. Her mom was supposed to pick her up an hour ago, and hasn't shown up yet. She was starting to get a little worried.

"Need a ride?" Someone asked from behind her, making her jump a little. She turned around and saw Jake walking towards her.

"Um, no. I'm good," Marley said. She started to shiver. It was freezing out.

"No you're not. Come on, I'll take you home."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Hop on."

"What?" Marley asked, but then realized that Jake didn't have a car. He had a motorcycle.

"Um, I don't know if I should ride on a motorcycle with you. It's really dangerous, and-"

"Marley, millions of people ride motorcycles. What, your parents won't let you ride on one?"

"We'll, yeah, there's that, but what if you get in an accident?"

"You are so uptight. You seriously need to live a little," Jake said, hoping on the motorcycle. He patted the seat behind him. "Come on. I promise you won't get hurt."

Marley bit her lip. If she went with Jake, she would be disobeying everything her mom had ever told her not to do. She told Marley never to ride on a motorcycle, and especially never to ride on one with someone she didn't fully trust. But part of her wanted to take a ride on the wild side. Jake was right. She did need to live a little.

"Okay, fine." She took the helmet from Jake and hopped on behind him.

"Put your arms around my waist," he ordered.

"What?!" Marley didn't think she heard him right.

"You don't want to fall of, do you?"

"No, I don't." She wrapped her arms around his waist, and instantly blushed. She liked the feeling.

"Are you ready?" Jake asked.

Marley gulped. "Yeah," she said in a small voice. "I'm ready."

Jake started up the motorcycle, and before she knew it, they were speeding down the hill back to her house. She spent the first couple of minutes closing her eyes, praying that they wouldn't get in an accident.

"You can open your eyes now," Jake laughed.

Marley slowly opened them, and grinned. She loved the feeling of the wind in her face as Jake drove. Her arms were wrapped securely around Jake's waist, and her hair was blowing wildly behind her. This was probably one of the best things she's ever experienced.

"Having fun?" Jake turned around and asked once they stopped at a red light.

"Yeah, this is amazing," Marley answered back breathlessly.

Ten minutes later, they reached Marley's house. "Thanks for taking me home," she said as she got off the motorcycle. "I hate to admit it, but it was actually really fun."

"We'll if you ever want to do a little more living, just come to me," Jake said.

Marley blushed again. "Okay. I'll, um, see you tomorrow."

"See ya." Jake got back on his motorcycle and drove away.

Marley let herself inside her house and saw her mother standing in the doorway, looking very angry.

"Where the hell were you, Marley Rose?!" She demanded.

Marley winced. Her mom only ever called her by her full name when she was in trouble. And that barely ever happened.

"I, um, walked home," she lied.

"Then why didn't you answer your phone?"

Marley pulled her phone out. Eight missed calls. Oops.

"It was out of batteries," she quickly said.

"Don't lie to me, Marley," Ms. Rose snapped.

"Okay fine," Marley quickly thought of an excuse, "I was with Tina. She wanted me to go with her to the mall to pick out a dress for her date." _Nice save._

Ms. Rose stared at her daughter for a few more seconds. "Next time answer your phone. Or at least use Tina's phone to call me and say what you're doing. You really worried me."

"We'll so did you, mom. You were supposed to pick me up right after school. You were an hour late, so I went with Tina."

"I'm sorry about that, Marles. My meeting ended late, so I couldn't pick you up then. I called you, though. You didn't pick up."

"Sorry," Marley mumbled. She had these little fights with her mom quite often, but this one was different. Usually right after she and her mom would argue, she immediately apologizes and feels incredibly bad about what ever happened. This time, however, Marley didn't regret what she did. She was glad she finally got to live a little. She didn't even feel bad that she lied to her mom. She felt like a whole new person.

And she liked it.


	4. Chapter 4

**OMG I just reached 100 reviews on my other Jarley fic Start Of Something New! I wanted to thank Rebecca Vicioso for being my 100th reviewer :D You're awesome! Also, I know I said that I wouldn't update this until sometime next week, but I had time today, so I just wrote it ahead of time and decided to post it for you all. Hope you all like :)**

* * *

"I cannot believe you went on a motorcycle with Jake Puckerman!" Tina shouted angrily. "How could you have done that? He could have gotten you killed!"

"But Tina, you should have been there. It was so much fun. I've never felt more free in my entire life," Marley said.

"Oh yeah, and what will your mom think? If she finds out that you rode on a motorcycle with a stranger and lied about it, she'll kill you."

"Jake's not a stranger," Marley stated.

"Oh he's not? Okay, then. Tell me something you know about him that I haven't already told you." Tina crossed her arms.

"We didn't have time to talk, but I feel like I can trust him," Marley said, not really knowing how to explain it.

"Well, yeah, he wants you to feel like you can trust him. He's only being like that to try to get you to sleep with him."

"He would never do that!"

"Open your eyes, Marley!" Tina yelled. "People aren't as good and innocent as you are, no matter how hard you want them to be. Jake Puckerman is not a good guy. He doesn't care about you. He just wants to have sex with you and then later pretend like it never happened!"

"Well I refuse to believe that," Marley said after a couple minutes of silence. "I think underneath all that tough guy exterior, there's a nice, caring, sensitive guy waiting to come out."

"You believe whatever you want to believe, Marley. Just don't come crying to me when he breaks your heart." Tina glared at Marley and rushed off to her next class.

Marley stood by her locker in disbelief. She thought Tina would understand. She thought Tina would be happy for her. Still feeling like the new, rebel version of herself, she decided to skip class. The last thing she felt like doing was sitting in a hot classroom, conjugating verbs in Spanish.

* * *

Later that night, Marley sat on her couch, a giant ice cream tub in her hands, watching The Bachelor. She was about to call Tina, because they usually called each other during the show to talk about what's happening, but then realized that she didn't have a best friend anymore. At least not for now. She hoped that she and Tina would make up soon and forget that this all happened.

"Want some company?" Ms. Rose asked, joining her daughter on the couch. She noticed Marley's tear streaked face and bloodshot eyes. "You look like you just had a rough breakup," she remarked.

"Yeah, something like that." Marley wiped her eyes.

"Tell me what's going on, sweety."

"Tina and I got into a really big fight."

"What happened?"

"I, uh, don't really want to talk about it," Marley said.

Ms. Rose nodded her head. "Alright, well if you ever need to talk to me, I'm here."

"Thanks, mom." Marley got up and hugged Ms. Rose. "You always know how to make me feel better."

"That's my job." Ms. Rose smiled. "Now give me some of that ice cream."

* * *

Jake walked into biology class late again the next day. In fact, Marley didn't think that Jake had ever come to that class on time before.

"What did I miss?" He asked Marley as he sat down next to her.

"Not much. I wasn't really listening. Something about DNA."

Jake turned and stared at her. "Wow. Marley Rose not paying attention in class? That's a first," he chuckled to himself.

"I don't know, maybe that motorcycle ride changed me. I also skipped Spanish class yesterday too."

"You shouldn't make a habit of it," Jake mumbled.

"_You're_ telling me not to make a habit of it? Says the guy who comes late to school everyday and never does any work!"

"Well you're smart. At least you're going to college after high school. Not all of us are able to make it out of this place," Jake snapped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Marley whispered angrily.

"Nothing. It doesn't mean anything," Jake muttered. "Let's just finish this lab." He put his head down and wrote stuff down on his worksheet.

Marley had no idea what just happened. She watched him as he continued working on the lab. Should she say something? Apologize? She didn't know what to do.

The two of them stayed silent for the rest of the class.

* * *

_Not all of us are able to make it out of this place_. What did Jake mean by that? Marley sat in her bed, still thinking about the events from earlier. Was he not going to graduate?

All these thoughts kept Marley awake, and by 2:45 in the morning, she couldn't take it any longer. She decided to log into her Facebook account, and gather enough courage to message Jake.

-_Look Jake, I don't know if you're mad at me for some reason, but like I said, if you ever need to talk..._ Marley took a deep breath and pressed enter.

_-Why do you even care?_ Jake wrote back.

Marley thought to herself. Why _did_ she care?

_-Because I know that underneath that mean, tough guy is a nice person_. She knew that was a little risky to send, but she did it anyway.

_-What if you're wrong?_

_-I might be._

_-Why me, though? There are tons of popular jerks at this school._

_-You're different_. Marley smiled to herself. There was something different about Jake. It was like every conversation they had together, the more and more she got to know him.

_-So are you_. Jake wrote back.

Marley was about to write something else, when another message from Jake popped up.

_-I'll see you tomorrow, ok? It's getting kinda late. You should go to sleep._

As if on cue, Marley yawned. She was exhausted.

_**-**__See you tomorrow._

After Jake logged off, Marley shut down her computer and lay down on her bed. She closed her eyes, and finally let sleep overtake her.

* * *

Marley walked to her locker the next morning with a huge smile on her face. Tina was so wrong. Jake actually was a good guy with good intentions. She couldn't wait to see him today.

As Marley was gathering her books for her first class, she heard someone walk up behind her. "Look Tina, if you want to apologize, I forgive you. But you're wrong though. You-" she turned around to talk to who she thought was Tina behind her, but suddenly realized it wasn't. "Oh my god Jake!"

"Nice to see you too." He cracked a small smile.

"Um, hi," Marley said, getting a little nervous. She always felt a little nervous around him.

"I, uh, wanted to know if you would want to go to a party with me tonight," Jake said.

"A party?"

"Yeah, you know, like dancing?"

"Yeah, I know what a party is," Marley laughed. "I-I'll go," she said, a little unsure.

"Cool. I'll, um, pick you up at 9."

"9pm? Isn't that a little late?" Marley asked.

"Nope. The party will just be getting started."

Marley gulped. "Um, okay then. See you at 9."

After Jake left, Marley hit the back of her head against her locker. She knew in the back of her mind that this wasn't a good idea, and that she definitely shouldn't go to this party. But she _couldn't_ cancel. Not on Jake. What did she get herself into?


	5. Chapter 5

Marley checked her watch for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night. Jake would be here in 5 minutes, and she was freaking out. She had a feeling this wouldn't be like a normal high school party. She even had to lie to her mom for tonight, telling her that she and Tina had made up and she was spending the night at her place. Luckily Ms. Rose had believed it, but this was the second time in less than a week that Marley had lied to her mother.

"Sweety, can I come in?" Ms. Rose knocked on Marley's door. "Wow. You look very nice. I thought you were just going to Tina's house."

Marley panicked a little. She was dressed up way too fancy for just a sleepover. She quickly thought of an excuse.

"Um, yeah, Tina just texted me saying that her parents invited me to a movie. Tina said to dress up." _Wow. Make that third lie this week._

"Alright, we'll you look stunning."

"Thanks mom. Um, can you close the door behind you?"

"Yeah, of course. If you need anything, just call for me downstairs."

"I will." Once Ms. Rose shut the door, Marley walked over to her mirror again, staring at her outfit. Maybe she was dressed a little too fancy for this party. She was wearing a baby pink dress with thin straps, that came up to her knees. It was the nicest thing she had in her closet.

Marley frowned. What if everyone was dressed casually? The last thing she wanted to do was stand out. She barely had any more time to think, because just then Jake texted her (they had exchanged phone numbers on their last Facebook chat) saying that he was around the corner.

Marley took a couple deep breaths. She knew she was overreacting. This was a party! Parties are supposed to be fun. But deep down inside she knew that this was not her scene. Not where a girl like her should be. Nevertheless, she fluffed her hair one last time, said goodbye to her mother, and ran over to Jake's motorcycle.

Little did she know what kind of night she was in for.

* * *

"The party's in _Lima Heights_?" Marley shouted once Jake started up his motorcycle.

"Yep."

"Isn't Lima Heights a little dangerous?"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Jake said. "Just as long as you stay close to me."

"O-Okay," Marley whimpered, wishing she was back in the safety of her own home.

15 minutes later, Jake pulled up in front of a random house. "Here we are."

Marley gulped.

"Just remember not to take any drinks from strangers, okay?" Jake reminded her.

She nodded her head, unable to speak.

"Come on, let's go!" Jake took her hand and led her into the house.

"So, um, who's house is this?" Marley asked when they got inside.

"Just an old friend of mine," Jake quickly said.

"I thought you didn't have any friends," Marley said skeptically.

"There's a lot I didn't tell you," Jake said, now shouting over the loud, booming music. "Come on. Follow me."

Marley reluctantly followed Jake into the kitchen.

"Ryder!" She heard Jake shout, pounding fists with him.

"Dude, it's been forever," Ryder said. "Who's this?" He gestured to Marley.

"Oh, this is Marley. She's a friend."

"She looks a little too innocent for Lima Heights," Ryder laughed. "You sure she's cut out for this?"

"Dude, leave her alone. She'll be fine," Jake said.

"Want a drink?" Ryder asked Marley. "You look like you need to have some fun. What's with the outfit? This isn't prom." He held out a cup filled with a strange liquid. Marley quickly looked at Jake, who was shaking his head, mouthing "no."

"Um, no thanks," Marley said politely.

"Wanna dance?" Jake asked.

Marley grinned. "Yeah, I'd love to." Was this actually happening?

Jake took her hand and led her to what seemed like the living room, where everybody was dancing. It wasn't the kind of dancing Marley thought it was, though. Oh no, the people here were all grinding against one another. It was kind of disgusting.

Jake, sensing Marley's discomfort, took her hand and starting to dance around her. Marley was surprised. Jake was actually a really good dancer.

After a couple minutes of them dancing with each other, some random sleazy guy started to grind up against Marley. She was mortified.

"Um." She looked over to Jake, silently asking for help.

"Dude, leave her alone," Jake said, slightly pushing the guy.

"It's a party, man. I can dance with whoever I want," the guy slurred. He was definitely drunk.

"Just stay away from her," Jake said, getting angry. "She doesn't want some gross, drunk guy grinding up against her."

"Jake, it's okay," Marley said.

"No it's not. This dude needs to know not to bother you."

Suddenly, Marley felt like the whole room was spinning. She needed to get out of here. "Jake, can we please leave? I feel like I'm gonna pass out."

"Yeah, of course." He took her hand and led her out of the house. Marley didn't think she had ever been so happy to be outside.

**"**Sorry about all this." Jake said, feeling really guilty. "I should have known that you wouldn't be up to this."

Marley sat down on the front steps. "It's okay. I'm just glad you were there." She smiled.

Jake sat down and joined her on the steps.

"So how do you know that Ryder guy?" Marley asked.

"We were best friends when we were kids. I haven't seen him in years."

"We'll he sounded nice," Marley said.

"Yeah, he's, uh, pretty cool," Jake said. Marley felt like there was something about Ryder that Jake wasn't telling her about.

"Jake?" Marley blurted out. There was something on her mind that she wanted Jake to answer for her. "Why did you take me to this party? There are tons of other girls at school who would have loved to go to these kinds of parties. Why me?"

"Like I said, you're different. You're different from all those other girls at school."

"How am I different?"

"I don't know, just something about you," Jake said. "You're nice, and sweet, and you're the only person who has ever wanted to get to know me."

Marley's cheeks flushed. "I, uh, really like you," she said in a small voice.

"I like you too." Ever so slightly, he leaned closer to her.

Without even knowing what was happening, her head started to lean in towards his. It was like her body was being controlled by someone else. Someone else who really wanted her to lean in and kiss Jake.

Right when their lips were about an inch away from each other, Jake pulled away. "I should, uh, get you home," he said quickly, "it's getting pretty late."

"Oh, uh...okay," she said, trying to mask the sadness in her voice. Why didn't he want to kiss her? Did he not like her that way?

They walked over to his motorcycle, both feeling the awkwardness. Neither of them said a word the whole ride back to Marley's house.

"I'll, uh, see you Monday," Jake said when he got to her house.

"Yeah. See you Monday," Marley said back, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.

She stood on the sidewalk and watched Jake drive away, the events of the last couple of hours playing in her head.

_He_ told her he liked her. _He_ was the one who leaned closer to her first. So why did he pull away the last second?

She was going to find out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story; it really means so much to me. All you guys are really awesome, and I'm giving out virtual hugs to everyone :D. Anyways, hope you like this chapter, it's my favorite one so far. You'll see why ;)**

* * *

It's been a whole week since Tina and Marley had their huge fight. Marley was more than willing to make up with her, but talking to Marley was definitely the last thing on Tina's mind. Ever since they stopped hanging out, Tina had gotten closer and closer to Mike. It stung a little; Tina was mad at Marley for liking a guy, yet she was doing the exact same thing. Not that Mike was an unpredictable, sketchy, and secretive guy. He was actually one of the nicest guys Marley has ever met. But that wasn't the point. The point was that Marley wanted her best friend back. And she wanted her back now.

"Tina, can you please just talk to me!" Marley stormed over to her former friend's locker.

Tina gave Marley a nasty look, rolled her eyes, and went back to talking to Mike, who was right next to her.

"Look, I know you're mad at me, but I'm the one who got you two together, so you should be thanking me." Marley crossed her arms.

Tina turned around and faced Marley. "I would have done it myself you know," she said coldly.

"Really?" Marley asked, staring straight into Tina's eyes.

Tina tried to hide the smile on her face. "No," she confessed.

"I'm really sorry for not listening to you, Tina," Marley sighed. "You were just being a good friend by looking out for me."

"Well I shouldn't have judged Jake like I did. I don't even know him. I'm sure he's not as bad as people say he is."

"He's not." Marley smiled. She felt her cheeks flush, but she couldn't really do anything to hide it.

Tina raised her eyebrow. "Oh really now? And how would you know?" She said amusingly. She glanced back at Mike, silently telling him to leave. Mike nodded his head, kissed Tina on the cheek, and headed off to class.

"He took me to a party!" Marley squealed once they were alone.

"Oooh, did you guys dance?" Tina asked excitedly.

"Um, not really. It kind of ended weirdly."

"What do you mean?"

"I, uh, thought he was about to kiss me last night, but he pulled away at the last second."

"Did you want him to kiss you?"

Marley thought for a second. She thought of the looks people would give her for hanging out with Jake. She thought of the way her mom would be disappointed in her for being around someone who is a bad influence. She thought of the potential heartbreak she might have to deal with. But at that moment, she honestly didn't care. At the end of the day, Jake was a good guy. Sure, a guy who had a bunch of walls built around him, but a good guy nonetheless. Marley realized at that point that she wasn't afraid of him him anymore.

Tina snapped her fingers in Marley's face. "Marley?! Where did you go?"

"Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About how much you want to kiss Jake?" Tina joked.

Marley playfully shoved Tina's shoulder. "Shut up," she laughed. Her tone became serious again. "So you're sure you're not still mad at me?"

Tina smiled. "Of course not. I was just scared that Jake wasn't going to treat you right."

"But I don't even know if he likes me like that," Marley sighed. "And if I go right up and ask him, it's going to make me sound like one of those desperate girls who he doesn't like."

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out. You're a smart girl. I'll catch up with you later, okay? I'm gonna spend some time with Mike," Tina said, blushing slightly.

"I'm really happy for you guys." Marley smiled at her best friend.

"Thanks. And also thank you again for setting us up. You're an amazing friend." Tina hugged Marley and skipped down the hall to find her boyfriend.

Marley smiled sadly at the sight of her best friend running off to see Mike. She was happy for them, really. She wished she could have that kind of love one day.

* * *

Jake was late yet again for biology. Marley knew that she was slowly knocking down some of the barriers that surrounded Jake, but for some reason, she knew that he wouldn't tell her about why he was always late. They had biology first thing in the morning everyday, and he was late every single time. It was like he didn't even know what time school started, because he always came late at a different time everyday. It was a mystery to Marley. Hopefully one day he would tell her.

"I had a fun time at the party last night," Marley said when Jake finally showed up and sat down next to her.

"No you didn't," he said without even looking at her.

"Well, um, maybe we can do it again sometime," Marley said, trying not to sound too desperate.

Jake finally turned and looked at her. "Look, Marley. I don't think you should be hanging out with me," he said bluntly.

Marley frowned. "W-Why?"

"I'm a bad influence on you, okay? You shouldn't be around guys like me. I don't want you to get hurt," he said the last part softly.

"B-But I thought you said you liked me," Marley said, not caring anymore that she sounded totally desperate and needy.

"Yeah, I do, but I think it's best if you stop talking to me," Jake said, his face showing no emotion.

"I-If that's how you feel," Marley whispered. She put her head down and focused on her work silently for the rest of class.

* * *

"He actually said that?" Tina shouted angrily after class that day.

"Yeah. I mean, what changed since last night? I thought he would want to spend more time with me. At least as friends or something."

"I thought you said Jake didn't have any friends," Tina said.

"Yeah, well there's a lot I don't know about him. He says he's dangerous, but I just think he's just damaged. And I want to find out what happened," Marley declared.

"Marley, I don't think he wants you to, though. I mean, it's obvious he has this secret past, and he probably doesn't want anyone to know about it. That's why he keeps himself closed off. And besides, even if you guys were friends, what would you mom think of that? You told me that she doesn't want you hanging around people like him."

"I think I obey my mom too much. It's time for me to have some fun and not have a leash around me at all times. My mom doesn't need to know that I spend time with Jake."

"Well first you have to get Jake to actually talk to you again," Tina pointed out.

Marley sighed heavily. "Yeah, I know." This was going to be hard.

* * *

Marley walked out of European History class, totally drained. The class had just taken a really difficult test, and she had a feeling she did really bad on it. All she wanted to do was go home and watch reruns of Jersey Shore. Reality TV always helped her when she was feeling gloomy. Unfortunately, she still had three more classes left.

She walked down the halls to her next class and immediately saw Jake by his locker. She was about to casually walk by him, when suddenly she was overcome by a sticky blue substance hitting her face.

A Cheerio and her football player boyfriend stood in front of her, both laughing. "That's what you get for not letting me copy off you during that test!" The Cheerio said, dumping the rest of the blue raspberry flavored slushie over her head.

Marley just stood there, not having a clue what to do. The girls bathroom was on the other side of the school, and she did not want to face everyone looking like this. She let the contents of the slushie run down her face, onto her shirt. She couldn't even feel her face, it was so numb with cold. People walked by, pointing and laughing at her. This was the most humiliating moment of Marley's short life.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her hand and whisk her away from the crowd of laughing students. She looked up from her slushie-coated eyelashes and saw Jake with an angry expression on his face.

"Get the hell away from her," he growled at everybody who was staring. "Fuck off."

Marley was still so in shock, she didn't even react to his use of foul language. She just wanted to get the sticky substance off of her.

Jake led her into the boys bathroom, which luckily was empty. He put a chair in front of the door so no one would come in. Then he sat her up on the flat surface of the sink, got some paper towels, and started wiping Marley's face.

"I can do it myself you know," she croaked.

Jake remained silent and kept wiping at her face, getting rid of all the clumps of slushie on her face.

Marley brought her hands to her hair and started taking out the giant clumps of residue that remained. "Do people actually do this here? Slushie people for fun?"

"I wouldn't call it for fun," Jake finally said, getting a wet paper towel and scrubbing at the sleeve of Marley's blue-stained shirt.

"You seem to know what to do. Has this ever happened to you?"

"Yep," Jake said, still scrubbing. "You get used to it."

"I don't see how anyone could get used to this," Marley grumbled.

After a couple minutes of a somewhat awkward silence, Jake finally spoke.

"It matches your eyes."

Marley cocked her head to the side. "What?"

"The slushie. The color of it matches your eyes," he clarified.

"Um...Thanks?"

"It was a compliment," Jake said sheepishly.

Marley giggled. "Thanks."

"Sorry for acting like such a jerk the other day," Jake said.

Marley looked down. "It's okay," she said quietly.

"No it's not." Jake brought his hand to Marley's chin and pulled it up to look at him. "I was being an ass, and it was unfair to treat you like that."

"I get it though. You don't want me to get hurt. I think you're wrong about yourself though."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think you're dangerous," Marley said, "I think you're just a troubled guy who has dealt with a lot. And I really want to get to know you more."

"I want to get to know you too," Jake said. He took a piece of Marley's hair and put it around her ear, like he always sees people in the movies do. He leaned closer to her, staring into the depths of her beautiful blue eyes. In response, Marley licked her lips and leaned closer to him as well.

Finally, her lips came in contact with his. She felt Jake placing his hand on her cheek. The kiss started off slow and sweet, and then went to a more passionate level. After a little while, Marley pulled away in fear of passing out from lack of oxygen.

She stared into Jake's deep brown eyes. "Wow," she breathed.

Jake blushed and took her hands, his fingers intertwining with hers.

"I've never kissed anyone before," Marley said quietly, feeling a little embarrassed.

Jake smiled. "Glad I could be the one to change that." He leaned in and kissed her again, neither of them even caring that they were both in the boys bathroom, and Marley was still covered in blue slushie.

Marley smiled into the kiss, feeling happier than she ever has felt before. Then the bell rang, interrupting them.

Marley pulled away and groaned. She really wanted to kiss Jake some more.

Jake helped her to the ground. "I'll um, see you later," he said, and quickly kissed her cheek.

Marley walked out of the boys bathroom, completely forgetting that the front of her shirt was still stained. In fact, she didn't even care.

She was just happy her life was finally getting exciting.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! Just wanted to say that this story is far from over, and I have a lot of things planned for future chapters. Soon you'll see why Jake's so mysterious, and you'll get a look into his past. Oh, and also, I was watching the movie She's The Man earlier today, and I realized that it could make for a really cute Jarley story! Would you guys want me to write that for my next multi-chapter fic? Let me know, and as always, I hope you like this chapter :)**

* * *

Marley and Jake didn't officially become a couple. At least not yet anyways. Jake wasn't one to put a label on things, which was perfectly okay with Marley. She was just glad Jake was speaking to her again.

They did go out, however. Jake took her out to the movies one night. He also gave her rides home from school on his motorcycle everyday. Marley just told her mother that Tina drove her home. Lying to Ms. Rose was becoming to become a problem, though. Marley had lied to her so many times in the past couple weeks, she didn't even feel bad about it anymore. It was starting to become a regular thing.

"Marley, sweety, you've been so distant lately," Ms. Rose commented one night during dinner.

Marley hesitated, trying to come up with a good excuse. "I, uh, I've been busy with school work and hanging out with friends." She knew she probably shouldn't have said the part about hanging out with friends. Now her mom would want to know who her new "friends" were.

"Does this have to do with a boy?"

Marley took a deep breath, deciding to play it cool. "No, mom. This has nothing to do with a boy." No way was she ever going to tell her mom about her new rebel possible boyfriend.

"Alright, well I'm glad to see you making friends." Ms. Rose smiled.

Marley nodded. "Yeah, me too. She didn't know how long she could keep Jake from her mom. Hopefully at least until graduation. That is if Jake still wanted to be with her. She knew she shouldn't assume anything, though. Nothing good ever came from that.

* * *

"Hey, do you want to come to my house with me after school today?" Jake asked as he sat down next to Marley ten minutes after bio class started the next day. "There's someone I kinda want you to meet."

"Uh, y-yeah. Sure. I'd love to," Marley quickly said. _Was he going to officially ask her to be his girlfriend? Was he going to introduce her to his parents? That's what couples do, right?_ All those thoughts flew through Marley's head during class. She didn't even pay attention the whole hour and a half. All she could think about was Jake. Yes, she knew it was cheesy, but it was true.

* * *

"You live in Lima Heights too?" Marley asked from behind Jake. They were currently on his motorcycle to his house.

"Yep. Don't worry. Lima Heights isn't as bad as people tell you it is. It's just...not the safest."

"Oh, okay," Marley said. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach. She tried to convince herself that there was no need to be nervous. It was only Jake's house. She _wanted_ to be with Jake. This was just taking the next step in their relationship.

"And here we are," Jake said, parking in front of a small blue and white painted house. It was definitely the nicest looking house on the block. "My mom won't be home until midnight probably, so we've got the place to ourselves."

Marley's nervousness didn't go unnoticed by Jake. "Don't worry, it's safe here. Nobody's going to hurt you," he said softly, taking her hand. Marley swore she could feel the electricity pass between them.

"Why, do my eyes deceive me, or does my Jakey-poo actually have a girlfriend?" A voice rang out from the front door. Marley heard the door slam shut and saw a girl around her age walk towards them.

Jake kept a hold of Marley's hand. "Marley, this is my best friend Kitty. Kitty, this is Marley," he explained.

Kitty shook Marley's hand, sensing her slight discomfort. "Don't worry, we're not dating, or friends with benefits, sex buddies, or whatever you want to call it. We're just best friends. And besides, I don't play for his team if you know what I mean," Kitty winked.

Yeah, Kitty's a hardcore lesbian. And be careful, she's going to try to "convert you," Jake laughed.

Marley laughed along, a bunch of her nerves starting to going away.

"So, are you really Jakey's girlfriend?" Kitty asked.

Marley turned to Jake. "Uh..."

"Yeah," Jake cut in. "I-If that's what you want."

Marley grinned. "Yeah, I'd, uh, really like to be your girlfriend."

"Cool," Jake said, blushing slightly.

"You guys are so lame," Kitty said.

Marley giggled. "You're really sweet," she said sarcastically.

"Oh, I may seem sweet now, but if you get on my bad side, my kitty claws will come out. I wasn't born and raised in Lima Heights for nothing." Kitty smirked. "But you're a nice girl. I don't think you'll get on my bad side."

Marley smiled. "Okay, good."

"Kitty, stop scaring her," Jake said. He sat down on the couch and motioned Marley to sit next to him.

"So," Kitty spoke up, "you must be pretty damn special if Jake's inviting you over to his house. He never invites anyone here."

"Yeah, she's pretty special." Jake smiled. Marley beamed back at him.

"Alright, well I think it's time that Marley and I have a little girl talk," Kitty said.

"Okay, I'll be in the other room." Jake got up from the couch. "Don't try to flirt with her," he warned Kitty.

"No promises," she purred.

Jake rolled his eyes and walked over to another room. Once he was out of earshot, Kitty joined Marley on her side of the couch.

"So, what do you think of Jake?"

Marley smiled widely. "I really like him."

"You weren't scared of him? He can come across as a little...intense."

"Yeah, I know, but once I actually got to talk to him, he didn't scare me. He just has a lot of walls built up around him."

"Look, Marley," Kitty said, her voice full of concern, "if you want to be with Jake, there's something you should know about him. Something really important, and I'm not sure if a sweet girl like you could handle it.

Marley gulped. "What is it?"

* * *

**Don't hate me for stopping there! Sorry this chapter was so short, but I really wanted to end it here to keep you guys interested. Anyway, I know it was kind of weird to make Kitty a lesbian, but it was only to ensure the fact that she is not going to try to come on to Jake. Marley, yes, but not Jake ;). I really like writing Kitty as a nice person in my fics, because I think that under all that bitchiness is a good person. I don't know, maybe she could be dealing with personal issues or something. As always, thanks for reading so far and keep reviewing! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

_Marley gulped. "What is it?"_

It's not something really bad, like he's not a murderer or anything. He just..." Kitty paused.

"What?" Marley urged Kitty to tell.

"Jake's bipolar. Like super bipolar," Kitty said.

Marley crinkled her eyebrows. "What does that mean?"

"He has these...mood swings," Kitty sighed. "One minute he's all nice and calm, and then the next thing you know he's threatening to kill somebody."

"He hasn't acted like that around me."

"He probably will. I'm just warning you now so you don't freak out," Kitty said.

"He's not dangerous is he?"

"I mean, it depends on who makes him angry. He's gotten into fights at school before. He told me that he hasn't had a negative mood swing since he met you, though. So that's a good thing." Kitty shrugged.

"Do you know why he always comes late to school?" Marley asked.

A conflicted look came across Kitty's face. "I think Jake should be the one to talk to you about that. He would probably kill me if I told you. It's kind of...embarrassing."

"O-Okay," Marley said as Jake walked back into the room.

"Hey guys, talk about anything interesting?" Jake asked as he reclaimed his spot on the couch.

Marley smiled widely, hoping it didn't come across too fake. "No, not really. Just girl talk."

Jake nodded his head. "Hey, Marley, it's almost 7:00. I should probably take you home."

"Yeah, you're right. Hopefully my mom won't be too mad."

"Hey, uh, Marley?" Kitty called. She curled her finger and motioned for her to come. "Just remember, when you're calm, he's calm. When you're angry, he's angry," she whispered into Marley's ear. "We'll talk about it more later."

Marley nodded.

"See you later Kitty," Jake yelled out from the front door."

"Bye, Kitty," Marley said.

"Bye guys," Kitty said back, winking at Marley.

"So..." Jake said once he and Marley walked out the door. "What do you think of Kitty?"

"She's...something," Marley laughed. "I think she was flirting with me the entire time, though."

Jake snickered. "Yeah, she does that."

"How come she doesn't go to our school?" Marley asked.

"Her mom doesn't really accept Kitty's sexuality, so she sent her to this school close to here called the Lima Heights School For Troubled Girls. Kitty's kinda been flaking out on it though. Doesn't really go that much. She really hates it."

"That's horrible," Marley gasped. "Is she...okay?"

"Yeah, she mostly stays at my place because her mom doesn't even want to see her anymore. She sleeps on the couch."

Marley shook her head. "That's just awful. You're a really good friend."

"Thanks." Jake smiled. "I'm, uh, also hoping I could be a really good boyfriend," he said sheepishly.

Marley face reddened. "So, you, uh, want me to be your girlfriend?" She asked nervously.

Jake took her small hand in his. "I really really like you, Marley. I really want-"

"I know what's going on with you!" Marley blurted out unintentionally. She instantly covered her mouth with her hands. That was _not_ supposed to come out.

"W-What?" Jake crinkled his eyebrow.

"Kitty told me that you're bipolar." Marley took a deep breath, waiting to hear Jake's response.

Jake's face was red with anger. "How could she do that? That stuff is private!" He yelled. Marley needed to calm him down before the neighbors heard all the commotion.

"Please don't be mad, Jake." Marley touched his arm.

"You're gonna break up with me now, huh," Jake whispered. The anger in his eyes were now replaced by a sad, longing look.

"Why would I break up with you?"

"Because I'm a freak with crazy mood swings."

"Jake, I'm not breaking up with you. We _just_ became official," Marley stated.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Marley," Jake said. "I may lose my temper a lot, but I promise I'm never going to hurt you."

Marley felt tears welling up in her big blue eyes. "I know you won't," she said, her voice slightly cracking.

"Come on, let's get you home," Jake said.

"There's something I wanna do first," Marley said. She walked up to Jake and kissed him right on the lips. She pulled away after a couple seconds, giggled, and hopped on the back of his motorcycle all the way back to her house.

* * *

"Are you sure you still want to be with me?" Jake asked as he got off his motorcycle that was parked around the block from Marley's house. He grabbed Marley's hand and helped her down.

"Of course," Marley said without hesitation.

"It's just, I don't want you to be afraid of me when I lose my temper," Jake said, nervously playing with the zipper on his jacket.

"I can handle it, I promise." Marley took Jake's hand, intertwining their fingers together.

Jake leaned in to kiss her. Just as their lips were about to touch, Marley's phone started ringing loudly.

"Perfect timing mom," Marley giggled. "I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed him lightly on the cheek and ran to her house.

Jake stood there and grinned like an idiot. Marley was the first girl he liked who knew about his bipolar disorder that didn't freak out and run away. He was going to make sure to keep it that way.

* * *

"How was your day, Marley?" Was the first thing Ms. Rose asked when Marley opened the front door and walked inside, an hour past her curfew. A very angry look was plastered on her face.

"It was fine, mom," Marley said, trying to ignore the look on her mom's face.

"Where were you that you were an hour late home?"

"I was, um, with Tina. We were, um, working on a project for school."

"Oh, is that right? Then why did she call me 20 minutes ago asking where you were?"

_Damn it_. Marley sighed heavily, bracing herself for whatever her mom was about to say.

"How long have you been lying to me, Marley?" Ms. Rose asked, more hurt than angry. " What have you been doing that you don't want me to know?"

Marley knew it was time to finally stop lying to her mom and tell her what exactly was going on. "I, um, kind of have a boyfriend."

"A boyfriend? Who? What's his name? Do I know him?"

"Mom, the reason I didn't tell you was because he's Jake Puckerman."

The smile disappeared from Ms. Rose's face. "Marley, I've heard bad things about that boy. I don't want you to be associated with him."

"But mom, he's not as bad as you think!" Marley raised her arms in frustration. "He's just-"

"Just what?"

"N-Nothing. I shouldn't say. He's just...dealing with a lot of stuff."

"So what about all the rumors I've heard about him?" Ms. Rose crossed her arms.

"Not true," Marley said without hesitation. "Trust me, mom. I know what I'm doing."

Ms. Rose sighed. "I just hate that you had to lie about it to me. I'm your mom. You can tell me anything, sweety."

"I know mom. I'm so sorry." Marley hugged her mom tightly.

"But if he ever does something to put you in danger, I'm not letting you see him again," Ms. Rose said firmly.

"I promise he won't," Marley said confidently. "He's a good guy."

Ms. Rose still looked uncertain. "I sure hope so."

* * *

Jake walked up to Tina and Marley the next day during lunch, and gave Marley a slip of paper. "Kitty wanted me to give you her phone number," he explained. "She said to give her a call anytime."

Marley looked at the paper, noticing the bright red lipstick print on it. She smirked and put the paper safely in her bag.

"Who's Kitty?" Tina spoke up.

"She's my friend," Jake said. "I think she has a thing for Marley," he chuckled.

"Oh, that's...nice," Tina said, feeling a little jealous.

"Don't worry, Tina. Kitty's not replacing you or anything," Marley said, sensing Tina's discomfort. "I should introduce her to you."

"Um, I don't know," Tina said shyly.

"Come on, I'm sure you guys would get along great," Jake said. "In fact, she'll probably try to hit on you."

Tina laughed a little bit too fakely. "I should, uh, be getting back to Mike. He's probably waiting for me," she said awkwardly, quickly turning around to leave.

"That was weird," Marley commented once Tina left. "I wonder why she doesn't want to meet Kitty."

"She probably feels jealous that you have another friend," Jake said.

"Yeah, I guess. But she shouldn't. Tina knows that I could never replace her."

"I'm sure she'll talk to you if she feels threatened by your new friendship with Kitty. Now come on, let me walk you to class," Jake said, taking her hand.

"Okay," Marley agreed, letting Jake walk her to her European History class, wishing Tina was there so she can talk to her about what was going on. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Marley walked out of European History, ready to finally go home. That class always made her exhausted. It was just so boring. She made her way to Jake's locker, and then suddenly heard someone scream.

"Fight fight fight!" She heard people shout. Marley turned the corner and saw a crowd of people hovering.

"What's going on?" She asked one of the Cheerios, but then found her answer. She caught a glimpse of what was going on inside the crowd of students. She saw Jake fighting with some football player who was twice his size.

"Jake!" Marley shouted, but he obviously couldn't hear her. She pushed her way past the students in hopes of getting Jake to see her.

"Too bad your therapist isn't here to save you, huh," Marley heard the football player say.

"Shut the fuck up Azimio!" Jake shouted in rage. He pushed Azimio up against the lockers, punching him multiple times in the face.

"I thought your therapist told you not to use any violence," Azimio said in a fake girly voice. "She said to write down all your feelings in a journal."

"I said shut the fuck up!" Jake roared. Even though Azimio was bigger, Jake was much stronger. He rammed Azimio into the lockers and started punching him left and right.

"Jake stop!" Marley screamed, trying to get his attention.

Azimio started to punch Jake in the face, and Marley was sure she saw blood. _Why were there no teachers around?_ She broke away from the scene and decided to call the only person who would know what to do.

"Pick up pick up pick up," Marley begged as the phone rang.

"Hey Marley, what's up?" Kitty purred on the other line.

"Kitty, this is serious. I don't know what to do," Marley said, starting to cry.

"What's going on?" Kitty asked in a panicked tone.

"Jake's fighting with somebody at school. It's getting really bad and I don't know what to do. There's so much blood," she sobbed.

"Okay Marley, calm down," Kitty ordered. "Go get a teacher to stop the fight."

"Okay," Marley whimpered.

"Everything's going to be okay. This has happened before," Kitty said.

Marley hung up the phone and ran to the nearest classroom to find a teacher.

"Hey Marley. What's going on? The Spanish teacher -Mr. Schue- asked, grading papers at his desk.

"There's a f-fight going on in the hallway," Marley said, starting to hyperventilate.

Mr. Schue got up from his desk and ran to all the commotion, Marley trailing quickly behind. He pushed past all the students and grabbed Jake by the shirt, pulling him off Azimio.

"He's crazy!" Azimio shouted. "That son of a bitch just jumped me and started punching me for no reason!"

"Well judging from all the blood on Jake's face, I don't think he was the only one to blame here," Mr. Schue said. "Figgins office. Now," he ordered Azimio.

Another teacher finally came and took Azimio to Principal Figgins's office. Mr. Schue took Jake aside. Marley knew it was a bad idea, but she followed Mr. Schue and Jake out of the school and into the parking lot.

The sight of Jake nearly broke Marley's heart. He was leaning against a car, his head down, blood dripping from his nose. "Jake," she whispered.

Jake looked up, his eyes filling up with tears. "I'm so sorry," he said.

"Marley, come here," Mr. Schue said. Marley walked up to Jake, looking him in the eyes.

"Jake, why don't you tell me what happened?" Mr. Schue asked softly.

"That asshole found out about Dr. Pillsbury!" Jake shouted, his face getting red again. "He was teasing me about her and I got mad and punched him!"

"Okay Jake, calm down," Mr. Schue said. "Take a couple deep breaths, and look at Marley. She's your girlfriend, right?"

Jake nodded quickly, still refusing to look at anyone. His eyes stayed glued to the ground.

"Jake, please look at me," Marley pleaded.

Jake finally looked and stared into her crystal blue eyes. "I told you that you shouldn't be around me," he said, his voice breaking.

"Jake, stop. I'm not mad. Please." She grabbed his hand.

"It just happened, and I-I couldn't help it," Jake said, all the anger gone from his face.

"I know, Jake. It's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

* * *

**Hope you like it so far! Tell me in the reviews :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Mr. Schue offered to give Marley and Jake a ride home after school after the fight incident, but Marley really didn't want Jake to be alone at his house after what happened, so she asked Mr. Schue to drop them both off at her house.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?" Mr. Schue asked from the front seat of his battered up old car. "I can get Dr. Pillsbury for you if you need."

"I'm fine," Jake said, his face showing no emotion.

"Alright," Mr. Schue said as he stopped the car in front of Marley's house.

"Thanks, Mr. Schue," Marley said, hopping out of the car. Jake still stayed silent.

After their Spanish teacher drove away, Marley let herself and Jake into the house. Luckily, her mom was out for the evening, so she had the place to herself for a while.

"Jake?" Marley cleared her throat. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah," Jake finally spoke. He sat down on the couch and patted the space next to him, silently telling her to sit with him.

"Do those kinds of fights happen a lot?" Marley asked.

"No. At least not as often as they used to. I just don't know what came over me," Jake sighed. He gripped Marley's hand. "Thanks for not running away from me," he humorlessly laughed.

"Jake?" Marley thought it was a good time to bring up the question she's been itching to ask ever since the fight stopped. "Who's Dr. Pillsbury?"

Jake sighed heavily. "It's kind of a long story."

"We have time."

"Dr. Pillsbury's my...therapist," Jake whispered that last part.

"Therapist?"

"Yeah... I've been seeing her since I was thirteen. I don't really like people to know about it."

"How does Mr. Schue know?"

"He's Dr. Pillsbury's husband."

"Oh! This town is even smaller than I thought," Marley laughed.

"Yeah. Anyway, she's really been helping me for the past few years. She has major OCD, though, and she thought that no one would ever want to marry her, so when Mr. Schue finally popped the question two years ago, she was really happy. I was super happy for her," Jake said.

Marley smiled. Then another question came to mind. "So how come you always come to school late every day?"

"The only time Dr. P can really sit down and talk to me for more than the hour time limit is in the mornings before school. That's why I'm always late," Jake said, finally answering Marley's long time question.

"Ohhhhh," Marley said.

"What, did you think I was breaking into peoples houses, vandalizing things, and stealing stuff everyday before I came to school?" Jake asked jokingly.

"Uh, no, definitely not," Marley chuckled. "But I was really curious."

"I'm glad I told you, Marles," Jake said. "Now there are no more secrets between us."

Marley blushed at the nickname he gave her. "No more secrets."

* * *

Marley found out the next day at school that both Jake and Azimio were suspended for two days from the fight. She knew she would miss Jake in biology, but realized that it was only fair for them to be punished for their actions. At least she still had Tina.

"So that must have been pretty scary, watching them fight like that," Tina said while Marley was gathering books in her locker for her next class. "Gosh, if I was there, I would just run away."

"It was pretty scary, but I finally got to find out more of Jake's past and his dark secrets," Marley said.

"And you guys are still together?" Tina questioned.

"Yeah. And I'm really happy," Marley said confidently.

"I'm glad for you then. Oh my gosh, we both have boyfriends now!" Tina squealed in delight.

"I know, I-" Marley instantly stopped talking when she saw someone all too familiar walk down the halls right to Marley.

"Kitty?" Marley said. "What are you doing here?"

"I, uh, go here now. Surprise!" Kitty threw her arms up in the air in a ta-da fashion.

"What? How? I thought your mom made you go to that school for troubled girls," Marley said, still confused.

"I had a really long talk with her last night about, well, everything, and she finally agreed to let me go to school here," Kitty said with a huge smile on her face. "I feel like I finally belong."

Tina awkwardly cleared her throat. "I'm, uh, just gonna go and, uh, find Mike," she said, and quickly hurried off.

"That was my friend Tina. She was the first friend I made here," Marley explained.

"Who's Mike?" Kitty asked.

"Her boyfriend."

"Damn. Is everybody at this school straight?" Kitty yelled in frustration. A couple Cheerios turned around to stare at her, then quickly turned away. "I'm gonna go after them," Kitty said. "See ya later hot stuff!" She shouted before taking off, chasing the two Cheerios.

Marley giggled to herself. She was so glad she found a friend like Kitty. Sure, Tina was great, but Kitty was different. Whenever she was with Kitty, she always felt a rush of excitement. It was refreshing.

* * *

Marley and Kitty went to Jake's house after school that day, and immediately saw him passed out on the couch clutching a bag of potato chips.

"Wake up you fat ass!" Kitty yelled in his face.

"Kitty!" Marley said, trying to sound angry, but seeing how funny Jake looked, she quickly burst out into laughter.

"Don't worry, I'm allowed to call him that," Kitty said. She grabbed a nearby pillow and smacked it in his face. "Wake up!"

"I'm up, I'm up," Jake grumbled. He rubbed his tired eyes and looked at Kitty. "Why are you dressed in normal clothes? I thought that stupid school made you wear a uniform."

"I don't go to that stupid school anymore," Kitty said gleefully, almost bouncing off the walls. "Say hello to McKinley High's newest student!"

"No way! Seriously?" Jake got up and hugged his best friend. "Your mom let you?"

"Yep. And she wants me to live with her again. Hopefully it will last. She might just be having a 'happy phase,'" Kitty said sadly. "Whatever. I'm just glad she can finally look at me again without feeling disgusted."

"That's good," Jake said. "I'll miss having you on my couch, though."

"Oh, you'll get over it," Kitty laughed. "Anyways, I was thinking of becoming one of those Cheerios. There has to be at least one lesbian on that squad. I mean, have you seen those short skirts? That's like heaven for me," she said. "Maybe you should become a Cheerio too, Marley. I'd love to see you in that uniform," Kitty smirked. "I bet Jake would too."

"Shut up, Kitty." Jake threw one of the pillows in her face.

"What? I'm just sayin'. Anyways, I should be going. My mom's actually cooking dinner, can you believe it? See you tomorrow, Marley," Kitty waved and headed out the door.

Minutes later, Marley got a text from Kitty.

_You would totally rock the hell out of that mini skirt ;)_

* * *

"I just f-feel l-l-like you're replacing me," Tina cried over the phone later that evening.

"Tina," I'm _not_ replacing you," Marley assured. "I can have more than one friend, you know."

"But Kitty's more exciting than m-me, and more p-pretty, and better t-than me," Tina hiccupped.

"Tina, stop. Don't say things like that," Marley said. "Sure, Kitty's a whole lot different than you, but so what? That doesn't automatically make her better than you. You're special, Tina."

"You really think so?" Tina asked in a small voice.

"Of course," Marley said. "Don't let anyone else think otherwise."

"Thanks," Tina sniffled. "You're a great friend."

"So are you," Marley said. "I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay?"

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye." Marley hung up the phone and deeply sighed. She really didn't want Tina to be jealous of her new friendship with Kitty, but on the other hand, she wanted to spend even more time with Kitty. She hoped that she wouldn't lose Tina. Tina had been there for Marley ever since they first met. But Tina was one to follow rules. And Marley was ready to break some.

* * *

"How was your day yesterday, sweety?" Ms. Rose asked when Marley came down for breakfast the next morning. "You got home last night and went straight to your room, so I didn't get a chance to ask."

"It was fine," Marley said, taking small bites of the chocolate chip pancakes her mom made for her. They were her favorite. The taste of them brought her back to the sunny mornings in LA, when her mom would bake chocolate chip pancakes every morning, and Marley would vent to her about how the mean girl at school insulted her, or how the boy she liked was her project partner. She missed those days. Everything was so much simpler. There was no lying, or sneaking around. She used to tell her mom everything.

Those days are long gone.

"Anything interesting happen?" Ms. Rose asked, snapping Marley out of her thoughts.

"Um, I made a new friend. She's actually Jake's best friend, but I really like her too. Her name's Kitty. She just transferred to McKinley."

"What about Tina?" Ms. Rose concernly asked.

"What about her?"

"You hardly ever talk about her anymore. Are you two still friends?"

"Yes, mom," Marley said, slightly annoyed. "I can have more than one friend, you know." She paused, realizing this conversation was beginning to feel all too familiar.

"Alright, I just don't want Tina to get hurt. She's such a nice girl."

"She's fine, mom."

"So, how's Jake?" Ms. Rose changed the subject.

Marley sighed, knowing that this question would come eventually. She decided to definitely _not_ tell her about the fight. "Jake's fine," she said.

"Is he treating you well?"

"Yes, mom. Of course. I'm really happy with him."

"Good. That's all I want to hear. It would be nice to have him over for dinner some time," Ms. Rose said.

"Um...Yeah, I guess. Maybe sometime in the future. Um, I should go. I'm going to be late for school." Marley took one last bite of her pancake, kissed her mom on the cheek, and ran out the door without another word.

* * *

"Hey! You're back!" Marley said when she spotted Jake at his locker. She ran up and gave him a big hug. "I missed you here." She paused, frowning a little. "That didn't sound too desperate and needy, did it?"

Jake laughed. "Not at all." He bent down slightly to kiss her. The feeling of Jake's lips on hers was definitely one of the best feelings in the world. Well, at least to Marley it was.

"Hey, um, my mom wants to invite you over to our house for dinner one night. Do you want to?" Marley asked. "You don't have to, though," she added quickly.

"No, I'd like to. I really wanna meet your mom. She seems really cool," Jake said.

"Well, I don't know if I'd describe her as 'cool.' More like nice, or sweet, or supportive, and all that stuff," Marley laughed. "But she really wants to meet you too."

"You didn't tell her about the fight, did you?"

"No, of course not. She doesn't know anything. Just as long as you're on you best behavior, everything should be just fine."

"Don't worry, I promise I'll be good." Jake smiled. "I should probably get going. All my teachers want me to come to their classes early so I can get notes that I missed and homework and all that stuff. See you at lunch." He kissed her cheek and disappeared down the hall full of students.

"Hey, what's up?" Kitty asked once Jake left, walking up behind Marley, causing her to jump.

"Oh, hey. Nothing much. I was just telling Jake that my mom invited him over for dinner to get to know him."

"Well, just make sure she doesn't ask him a bunch of questions. Sometimes he gets these weird anxiety attacks when he's put through a lot of pressure," Kitty warned.

"I-I'm sure that won't happen. My mom's pretty chill." But Marley knew that her mom would want to know every little thing about Jake. She hoped she could lay off a little. The last thing she wanted was her mom to know about Jake's "issues." She would never let Marley see him again if she knew.

And that could _not_ happen.

* * *

**Hope you like this story so far! Let me know in the reviews :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Kitty graced down the halls of McKinley a week later, dressed as a Cheerio. She said that she could actually do flips and "all that other crap cheerleaders do" (as Kitty put it), but Marley knew that the one and only reason she joined was to stare at the other Cheerios all day and possibly get to look up their skirts. Marley had to admit that Kitty _did_ look good as a Cheerio.

"Hey Mar!" Kitty waved, walking over to Marley. Her perfect blond ponytail bounced behind her. A couple guys nearby turned and stared at her.

"Sorry boys, you're not my type," Kitty smirked when she noticed them staring.

"So, you're a Cheerio now," Marley said.

"Yep. With pom poms and all."

"Well, uh, good for you then," Marley said awkwardly.

"Thanks. Oh look. Here comes your man," Kitty said, spying Jake walking towards them.

"He's not my man," Marley whispered.

"Oh please." Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Hey Jake," Marley said sweetly, giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"What's wrong?" Marley frowned.

"It's nothing, I just totally bombed my Spanish test and had a little...freak out in class. It's fine though," Jake said, but Marley wasn't too convinced.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm fine. Seriously." Jake ran his hand through Marley's hair. Then he noticed Kitty. "Woah. You're a Cheerio."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Kitty said.

"She's only doing this to look at all the pretty girls." Marley smirked.

"Oh, I see," Jake laughed.

"Seriously Jake, you should really get a tutor," Kitty said. "This isn't the first time you totally bombed a Spanish test."

"I can tutor you if you want," Marley spoke up.

"Really?" Jake asked hopefully.

"Yeah. I have like a 97% in Spanish."

"I don't have to pay you, right?"

"Not in money," Marley giggled.

"Ew, okay gross." Kitty stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"Shut up," Jake laughed, flicking Kitty's ponytail.

"Whatever. I have to go to Cheerio practice," Kitty said. "See you guys later."

"Are you sure you really want to tutor me?" Jake asked Marley. "I mean, I have a really bad grade in Spanish."

"Of course I'll tutor you," Marley said.

"Okay, good. I'll, um, see you at your house later." Jake kissed Marley's cheek and headed off to his next class.

* * *

"You're, um, going out tonight right?" Marley asked her mom later that afternoon.

"Nope. I'm staying home tonight," Ms. Rose said, ruffling her daughter's hair.

"Oh, um, okay," Marley said nervously. Jake was still coming over later, and Marley thought they would have the house to themselves. It wasn't that she didn't _want_ her mom to meet Jake. She was just nervous about how Jake would react to her mom's tough question she would ask. You know, the usual date questions.

"Do you not want me to stay home tonight?" Ms. Rose asked.

"No, it's not that, it's just, uh, Jake's coming over in a bit so I can tutor him in Spanish."

"Oh, how nice! I'll finally get to meet him!" Ms. Rose clapped her hands together.

"Mom? Can you, uh, just not ask him a lot of questions and all that stuff? He's, um, really...shy," Marley said lamely.

"Well I want to get to know him, so of course I'm going to ask questions," Ms. Rose said.

"Just don't be too hard on him, okay?"

"Alright, sweetie, don't worry. When's he coming?"

"In about half an hour."

"Ooh I need to go make dinner!"

* * *

The doorbell rang 30 minutes later, and Ms. Rose was still scrambling to get dinner finished.

"Ready to do some work?" Marley asked when she opened the door for him.

"Yep. Got my Spanish book and everything." Jake leaned down to kiss her.

_Good thing he's in a good mood_, Marley thought. "Um, my mom wants you to stay over for dinner, if that's okay," She said as she led Jake up to her room.

"Yeah, I'd like that." Jake smiled. He took a seat on her bed and opened up his book.

"Keep that door open, Marley!" Ms. Rose yelled from the kitchen. "I can hear everything up there just so you know!"

"Okay, mom!" Marley shouted back. She giggled and joined Jake on the bed. "So," she said. "Where should we start?"

"Um, I kind of got lost once Mr. Schue started talking about those stupid stem-changing verbs that make no sense," Jake said, getting a little frustrated. He started to raise his voice a bit. "Why don't I understand that?"

"Jake, it's okay," Marley tried desperately to calm him down. "It's a really confusing topic. I'll help you, don't worry," she said soothingly.

"Okay," Jake said, taking a couple deep breaths. "Sorry for yelling."

"It's okay. Let's just look at the examples in the book."

"Hey Marley?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for caring about me so much."

Marley smiled. "Well, I'm your girlfriend. That's what I'm supposed to do, right?"

Jake grinned back. "Right."

* * *

"So Jake, I've heard a lot of, um, interesting things about you," Ms. Rose said an hour later when they all sat down for dinner.

"Like what?" Jake asked.

"Mom," Marley fake coughed, signaling her to stop talking.

"Oh, just that you were a very nice kid," Ms. Rose said, raising an eyebrow at Marley.

"I doubt that's what people really think," Jake said in almost a whisper.

Marley desperately needed to change the subject. She cleared her throat. "So, uh, how's work going, mom?"

Ms. Rose swallowed a bite of her spaghetti. "Work's fine, honey, but I still want to talk about you, Jake. I really want to get to know the boy who my daughter's dating."

Jake laughed uncomfortably. "Um, there's really not much to me. I live with my mom in Lima Heights, um, my best friend is Kitty, but I'm sure Marley already told you that, and, um, I really like your daughter," he said, smiling at that last part.

Marley grinned and reached for Jake's hand underneath the table.

"Alrighty then." Ms. Rose smiled. "Well Jake, you are welcome here any time."

"Thank you," Jake said kindly. "I'm really glad you like me."

"Sweetie, you're the best thing that's happened to my daughter ever since she's been here. Of course I'm going to like you. Now don't do anything to mess that up," Ms. Rose warned.

Jake nodded. "I won't. Promise."

* * *

Marley's mom went out for the evening, leaving Jake and Marley both home alone at her house.

"Don't even try anything," Ms. Rose had said. "I trust you guys. No monkey business."

Even though Marley had disobeyed her mom in the past, she decided to listen to her this time. She didn't even know what monkey business meant to her mom. Did she mean, like, _sex_? No way. Even though she was glad to have a boyfriend, Marley definitely wasn't ready for sex yet. She hoped Jake would respect that.

"Don't worry, Ms. Rose, I promise we'll be good," Jake had said.

After her mom left, Marley sat on the living room couch and patted the space next to her for Jake to join. "Wanna watch a movie?"

"Yeah, sure," Jake said. "What do you have?"

"What _don't_ I have?" Marley giggled as she opened the cabinet next to the TV, revealing about 100 DVDs. "I've got all the Disney classics, and a few old romantic movies my mom likes. But, my new favorite is this." She took out a DVD and tossed it to Jake.

"_The Hunger Games_," Jake said, a little surprised. "I would have never thought you'd be the kind of girl who likes these kinds of movies. You know, with all the murdering and everything."

"Well, I loved the books, so I knew I'd like the movie too."

"I've, uh, never seen it," Jake said.

"Well that's about to change," Marley said playfully as she snatched the movie out of Jake's hands and put it in the DVD player. "I promise you'll like it."

* * *

"Obviously if this Katnip girl is the main character, she's not gonna die," Jake said halfway into the movie. "So that's just like, giving away the end of the story."

"Okay, first of all, her name's Katniss, and just keep watching. The ending's not what you think," Marley said.

"Okay." Jake put his arm around Marley and continued to watch the movie.

Fifteen minutes later, Jake yelled out "Holy shit!" when Rue died. Even though it was supposed to be a very sad moment, Marley couldn't help but giggle at him.

"Didn't expect that, huh?" She nudged Jake.

"No way."

* * *

Neither Marley nor Jake made any effort to stand up and turn the TV off after the ending credits rolled down the screen. They were too comfortable cuddling with each other.

"Hey Marley?" Jake said after a couple minutes of silence.

"Yeah?"

"There's, um, something I want to tell you. And, um, I wasn't sure when the right moment was to tell you, but I feel like now's a really good time," Jake said, fidgeting with the edge of his shirt.

Marley grabbed the remote and muted the TV. Butterflies fluttered around in her stomach. _Was what Jake was about to tell her bad? Was he breaking up with her? No way. They just had a really nice romantic evening together. He wouldn't break up with her. But what if he was?_ Marley decided not to let her thoughts get the best of her, so she took a deep breath and said, "What is it?"

"I, uh, I think I'm, um, I think I'm in love with you," Jake stuttered.

Marley froze. "Y-You think?"

"No, I, uh, I know I am. I love you, Marley. And you don't have to say it back right now or anything, but-"

"I love you too," Marley said quickly.

"Really?"

Marley nodded, unable to talk due to the huge smile that was growing on her face.

"I've, uh, I've never said that to a girl before," Jake confessed.

Marley grinned even wider. "Me either."

Jake leaned closer to her and closed the gap between them with his lips. The kiss started off slow and sweet, but then grew more passionate. Jake ran his fingers through her hair, and Marley sighed happily into the kiss. Right when things were about to heat up even more, Marley's phone let out a loud beep.

Marley pulled away from Jake to see who texted her. "Oh my gosh, it's like she's psychic or something." She held her phone up so Jake could see the message her mom sent her to remind her absolutely no monkey business and that she'll be home in ten minutes.

"I should probably get going then," Jake said as he put on his jacket. "Tell your mom I really liked the dinner."

"Will do," Marley said.

"See you tomorrow. I, uh, I love you," Jake said a little shyly. Not that he was embarrassed of saying it, it was just...new to him.

"Love you too." Marley grinned. And it was true. For the first time ever in her life, Marley finally was in love.

* * *

"Why do you look so happy?" Ms. Rose asked suspiciously when she walked in the door, seeing her daughter grinning like an idiot.

"Is it a crime for me to be happy?" Marley said, not intending for it to sound as rude as it did.

"No, it's just that I've never seen you this happy before. You and Jake didn't..."

"No, no of course not!" Marley said. "We just had a really nice night, that's all."

"Alright, well get some sleep. It's getting late."

"Mom, it's 9:00 on a Friday night."

"Alright, well now that you apparently are a night owl all of the sudden, you can help me bake some cookies for dessert and then we can watch an episode of the Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills."

"I'd like that." Marley smiled. At the end of the day, even after all the lying and disobeying, she still loved her mom. That would never change.

* * *

**I am so sorry** **I took so long to update this. I've been really busy with school. Hope you all liked this chapter :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Get ready for some angst!**

* * *

Marley was still kind of in shock from when Jake told her that he loved her. In a good way, of course, but it was still hard to focus on anything else. The following Monday at school, Marley still had a hard time focusing in her classes. Biology was the worst. She and Jake kept on passing not-so-subtle glances at each other, she had missed the whole entire lesson on the immune system.

"Hey, Marley and I are gonna go back to your house now since you have to retake that history test," Kitty said right after school.

"Alright, I'll meet you guys later," Jake said, kissing Marley's cheek.

"See you," Marley waved.

"You seem...different," Kitty observed as she and Marley walked to her car. "Did you guys, like, do it last night?"

"What? No!" Marley said, appalled. "He, um, told me he loves me."

"Awwww," Kitty gushed. "How sweet. You are so lucky."

Marley grinned. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

"Hey, so grab a drink or whatever you like, and make yourself at home," Kitty said once they got to Jake's house. "I'll be right back."

"Wait, where are you going?" Marley asked, not really wanting to be left alone.

"I just have to stop at my place for a sec. I promise I'll be right back."

"O-Okay," Marley said, taking a seat on Jake's couch. "I'll be here."

"You better," Kitty said as she walked out the door.

Marley let out an audible sigh as she tried to make herself comfortable. She grabbed the remote control and turned the TV on. After flipping through multiple channels of sports games and reality tv shows, she finally settled on The Vow. She had always liked that movie. Marley was a total sucker for romance.

After a couple minutes, someone started banging on the front door, startling her. She jumped up and ran the door, expecting it to be Kitty. However, when she opened up, an unfamiliar boy's face smiled back at her.

"Um, hi?" Marley squeaked.

"Hey, is Jake home?" The boy asked, letting himself inside without permission.

"Um, no, so I really don't think you should be in here."

"Hey, you're that girl from the party," the boy exclaimed. "Remember me? I'm Ryder."

Memories from her first outing with jake flashed through her mind. "Oh yeah," she recalled. "You were that guy who handed me that drink that Jake told me not to have."

"You could have drank it," Ryder said. "There wasn't anything bad in it."

"I'd rather not take my chances."

"So..." Ryder said. "Are you and Jake a thing now?"

Marley nodded. "Yep."

"Hmmm. He doesn't really seem like your type."

"And what would my type be exactly?" Marley asked.

"Guys who aren't criminals." Ryder shrugged.

Marley's eyes widened. "He's not a criminal," she whispered.

"Oh, so he didn't tell you everything then."

"W-What?"

"I'll let Jake talk to you about that. Speaking of Jake, where is he?"

"He's taking a test at school."

"So why are you here all by yourself?" Ryder asked in a way that made Marley a tad bit nervous.

"Kitty was here but had to run home. She'll be right back." Marley looked over to the door, hoping Kitty would return soon. She didn't feel so comfortable with Ryder staring at her like that.

"Well in the meantime, why don't we get to know each other a little better?" Ryder slid on the couch next to Marley.

"Um."

"You know Jake's bad for you, right?" Ryder whispered in her ear. "He's done bad things in his past."

Marley shuddered. "I don't care about the person he used to be."

"Fine then. But when he gets sent to juvie again, I won't be the one to bail him out this time."

Suddenly, Marley was saved by the sound of jingling keys outside the door. And when Kitty finally opened the door and let herself inside, Marley almost ran to hug her.

"Ryder? What the hell are you doing here?" Kitty asked, looking disgusted.

"I just stopped by to see Jake, but I ran into his pretty little girlfriend instead," Ryder said with a creepy grin on his face.

"Yeah, well if I see you bothering her ever again, I'll crack your head open with my fists," Kitty threatened. "Now get the hell out of here!"

"Alright, alright." Ryder put his arms up in defense. "But I'm sure I'll see you later," Ryder winked at Marley, causing shivers to run down her spine.

"Get out!" Kitty shoved Ryder out the door. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She ran over to Marley, who was shaking slightly. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"He just came in, looking for Jake," Marley explained. "He started telling me not to be with Jake because he's a criminal or something, and then he started hitting on me in a really creepy way."

"Okay, first of all, Jake's not a criminal. Well, unless there's something he never told me. But Ryder does that a lot. You know, hitting on people like that. Happened to me."

"But you're into girls."

"Never stopped him. He was the one to confirm my love for girls. He kissed me, and I was utterly disgusted. Listen Marley," Kitty put her hand on Marley's shoulder, "even though you're with Jake, Ryder's going to still hit on you. He's gonna make you want to break up with Jake to be with him. Don't give into it. He'll mess with your head, trust me. And don't ever be alone with him."

"T-Thanks for the advice," Marley said. "So he wasn't telling the truth about Jake being a, a criminal, right?"

Kitty sighed. "Honestly, there's still some things he's kept a secret from me, so I don't know. But you should talk to him about it."

"Are you sure?"

Kitty nodded. Yeah, I'm sure."

* * *

Jake came home an hour later. Marley and Kitty were currently both laying on the couch finishing up The Vow.

"If you tell anyone this, I'll freaking murder you, but I actually really love this movie," Kitty had said earlier.

"Please don't tell me you've left me for Kitty. Even though she's prettier than me and smells better," Jake joked when he saw the two together.

Marley laughed, sitting up on the couch. "Don't worry, you're the only guy for me," she yawned, stretching her arms.

"Wake up, fat ass," Jake said to a sleeping Kitty, who had drool dripping down her chin. Kitty jerked awake and gave Jake the finger.

"Your 'pal' Ryder was here earlier," Kitty said.

"What? Why?"

"He was looking for you, but found something much better," Kitty said, glancing at Marley. "He was hitting on her. Nothing bad or anything, but just the usual crap he pulls. He did say something that kind of startled Marley, though."

"What?"

"He said something about you being a criminal," Marley spoke up. "And he said that he won't be bailing you out of juvie next time."

"What!?" Kitty shouted in alarm.

Jake's face went noticeably pale.

"Holy shit, you're totally hiding something from us," Kitty said, her face growing red with anger. "I thought you told me everything about you."

"Jake, what's going on?" Marley said, her face laced with concern.

"I haven't been completely honest with the two of you," Jake said, looking down at his feet.

"Was that asshole right? Did you fucking go to jail?" Kitty yelled, causing Marley to flinch due to her use of foul language.

"It was years ago, Kitty. I didn't tell you because I knew you'd freak out."

"What the fuck did you do, Jake?" Kitty asked. Marley could swear she almost saw stream rise out of Kitty's ears.

"It was nothing, really."

"Obviously not since you went to jail!" Kitty screeched. "What did you do?"

"I just, I-I shoplifted something from a store with some guys. I got caught, and I was sent to juvie."

"What store?" Kitty asked.

"Best Buy."

"What did you steal?"

"A cell phone."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted one, okay? I stole a stupid $20 phone for my own selfish reasons. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Jake shouted.

"Why the hell wouldn't you tell me something like that? Sure I would be mad, but I'd just be like, oh you're a dumbass, or something like that."

"You guys, calm down," Marley said softly.

"How can you be so calm about this?" Kitty said. "Your boyfriend's a liar! He lied to you about being a criminal!"

"I'm not a criminal!" Jake shouted. "I've just made some mistakes."

"Please stop," Marley begged, her eyes filling up with tears.

"Marley, you have to listen to me," Jake pleaded. "I'm not the guy I used to be. You have to believe me."

"You promised no more secrets," Marley said, her voice cracking. "You lied to me."

"I'm so sorry, Marley. I didn't mean to. I didn't want you to know about that part of my life because I was afraid you would see me differently."

"Oh she sees you differently alright," Kitty muttered.

Jake moved his hand to wipe away a tear that Marley didn't even realize was halfway down her face. She jerked away slightly.

"Marley, please."

"I-I'm sorry Jake, but I can't deal with all of this. It's just too much."

"A-Are you breaking up with me?"

I don't know," Marley whispered. "I feel like I should, but..."

"Please don't," Jake begged. "We can make this work. I promise I'll tell you everything."

"There you go again, promising stuff. But how do I know you'll keep it?"

"Come on, Marley, I'll take you home." Kitty got up and grabbed Marley's hand. "Jake needs to realize the mistake he's made. We trusted him, and he let us down."

"You guys, please listen to me," Jake said in a way that broke Marley's heart. She wanted more than anything to run into his arms and tell him that everything's going to be okay, and that she forgives him.

But things weren't always that easy. Jake didn't want Marley to know about that part of his life. It was a time that he wanted to erase completely from his memory. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible.

* * *

Jake didn't come to school the next day. Marley stood by her locker, replaying everything that happened last night in her head. She wished she could just delete everything that happened, and go back to the night where Jake told her he loved her. She knew Jake still loved her, but did she still love him? No, of course she did. She would never stop loving Jake. This was just a fight. Not a break up, she hoped. All couples fought. It was normal. _Right_?

The bell for second period snapped Marley out of her deep thoughts. She rubbed her tired, burning eyes and headed to gym.

* * *

I'm really sorry for yelling last night," Kitty said, coming up to Marley after lunch. "It was totally uncalled for."

"It's okay," Marley tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.

"Chicks before dicks, right?" Kitty said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah..."

"Look, I'm not feeling so great, so I think I'm gonna go home," Kitty said.

But we still have half the day left."

"I know, but I feel like I'm gonna pass out. I'll see you later, though."

"Uh, okay," Marley said, watching Kitty walk out the building to the parking lot, where she left without anyone noticing. Marley really wanted to chase after her and skip the rest of the day as well, but remembered she had two major tests today that she couldn't miss. _Fuck school_, Marley thought. She gasped out loud when she realized that she just swore for the first time in her life. Granted, it wasn't out loud, but still. It felt good.

* * *

Marley walked out the school building at the end of the day, ready to finally go home and take a long bath. Maybe she would even watch some reruns of The Bachelor with her mom. She felt her phone suddenly vibrate wildly in her pocket. Seeing Kitty's phone number light up, she answered it, hoping Kitty could join her in her Bachelor marathon. But before she could even get a word in, Kitty started sobbing violently.

"M-Marley? There's b-been an accident."

* * *

**I feel bad for ending this chapter here, but it makes it more interesting and dramatic. I hated writing Ryder as such a bad guy, but it had to be done. Hope you all liked this chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Kitty, what's going on?" Marley asked when she finally entered the Lima Hospital. She took a couple of deep breaths and sat down on one of the hard, plastic chairs. It was a good thing the hospital was close to school. She didn't think she had ever run faster in her entire life.

Kitty looked up at Marley, tears streaming down her pale face.

"Is it my mom? Oh my god." Marley started to panic. Her dad left them when Marley was five; she couldn't lose her mom either.

"It's Jake," Kitty croaked. "He was in a motorcycle accident." She reached for the box of tissues next to her and started wiping her tear-filled eyes.

"What? How? I don't-"

"I got a call from the hospital that someone found him laying on the street, and his motorcycle was totally damaged," Kitty cried.

"Oh my god." Marley covered her mouth with her hand, a single tear escaping down her cheek. "I-Is he okay?"

"I don't know. Nobody has told me anything!" Kitty shouted, kicking a chair in protest. "I'm such a horrible person," she sobbed. "If I hadn't yelled at him yesterday, he probably would have come to school today, and this would have never happened."

"Kitty, it's not your fault." Marley rubbed her friend's back soothingly.

"I just hope he's okay," Kitty continued to sob. "I can't lose him."

"Neither can I." Marley rubbed her eyes.

"I'm just glad you're here." Kitty hugged her so hard, Marley could hardly breathe.

"Come on, let's just sit down, and wait for the doctor to tell us everything," Marley said, sitting down on one of the chairs, motioning for Kitty to sit next to her. "Here, read a magazine." She handed Kitty the newest issue of Us Weekly.

"I don't even think celebrity gossip can get my mind off this," Kitty said. "But it can try."

* * *

"Are you two ladies here for Jake Puckerman?" One of the doctors asked an hour later, waking Marley up from her dreamless sleep.

"Yeah," Marley yawned. "I-Is he okay? What happened?" She started to panic again.

"Mr. Puckerman has a broken arm, a fractured rib, and a lot of cuts and bruises," the doctor said. "He just got out of surgery."

"Is he going to live?" Kitty asked.

"Yes, ma'am, he will. He was lucky. It could have been a lot worse."

"Oh thank god!" Kitty said, a smile finally appearing on her face.

"Can we see him?" Marley asked.

"Well, right now he's unconscious, but I'll let you know when he wakes up."

"Thank you so much, doctor," Marley said. She hugged Kitty one more time. "He's going to be okay," she said soothingly. "Everything's going to be okay."

* * *

Half an hour later, Marley spotted Tina walking through the doors of the waiting room.

"Tina? What are you doing here?" She got up and walked over to her friend.

"I heard about what happened."

"How?"

"Mr. Schue told me."

"I texted him," Kitty said. "He needed to know."

"Is he okay? What happened?" Tina asked, her face full of fear.

"He was in a motorcycle accident," Marley explained. "But he's going to be okay."

"I'm so glad," Tina said, pulling Marley into a giant hug. "You must have been so worried."

"Yeah, I was," Marley said truthfully. In fact, for the past two hours that she's been in this hospital, she had totally forgotten about her possible break up with Jake. It was a stupid fight, and it didn't even matter to her anymore. Too bad it took Jake almost dying to realize that.

"Mr. Puckerman's awake," the doctor said, walking into the waiting room. "He wants to see you two," she said, looking at Kitty and Marley.

"I'll stay here and watch your stuff," Tina said.

"Are you sure?"

Tina nodded. "Yeah, definitely. Tell him I said hi."

"Of course," Marley said before following Kitty into Jake's room.

"Oh my god," Kitty said softly, her eyes filling up with tears again at the sight of him. his arm was in a sling, and he had a giant gash on his forehead.

"I'm okay guys, really," Jake said.

Marley walked over to his bed and instantly grabbed his hand. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's not your fault either, Kitty. I was being an idiot by going way too fast on the stupid motorcycle.

"But if we hadn't yelled at you, you would have gone to school today, and this would have never happened," Kitty said.

"I deserved it."

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, though," Kitty whispered. "I was just angry that you kept that huge secret from me for all those years."

"Are we okay, then?" Jake asked hopefully.

"Of course we are, dumbass," Kitty laughed. "Now go talk to your girlfriend. I'll be in the waiting room with Tina."

"You're the best." Jake smiled.

"You know it," Kitty said, then closed the door, leaving Jake and Marley alone together.

"Do you still want to break up?" Jake asked, staring at their intertwined fingers.

"I never wanted to break up in the first place," Marley said. "I just wanted all the secrets and lies to stop."

"I know. I'm so sorry. You have to believe me."

"I do," Marley said after a couple of seconds. "Just as long as there are absolutely no more secrets."

"I promise there aren't," Jake said.

"Right now, I don't even care about all that stuff. I'm just glad you're okay." Marley smiled, feeling tears well up in her eyes again. But these tears were different. They were out of happiness.

"I love you," Jake said so quietly, Marley almost didn't hear him.

"Love you too." Marley squeezed his hand. "So how long do you have to stay here?"

"A couple days, I think," Jake groaned.

"Well, I'll be here everyday."

Jake grinned. "You're the best girlfriend ever."

Marley giggled. "I try."

* * *

"You guys ready to get going?" Marley asked once she got back to the waiting room. "Whoa. What's going on here?" She smirked when she saw Kitty and Tina really close to each other, both reading the same magazine together.

"Tina and I were just keeping each other company," Kitty said. "We got to know each other very well. Isn't that right, Tina?"

"Yeah, totally. I'm so sorry I misjudged you," Tina said.

"No worries," Kitty purred. "Anyways, I should get going. My mom's probably wondering where I am."

"I'll drive you home, Marley," Tina offered.

"Thanks, T. See you later, Kitty!" Marley waved.

"So," Tina said once they got into her car, "are you and Jake okay?"

"Yeah, we're great." Marley smiled.

"Good. I'm glad."

"So what were you and Kitty talking about? Last time I checked, you wanted nothing to do with her."

"Well, I was wrong about her. She's actually really nice. She even tried to hit on me a few times. I think that's why she was leaning so close to me."

"I bet you liked it," Marley teased.

"Shut up." Tina playfully shoved Marley's shoulder. "I'll have you know, I'm perfectly happy with Mike, and he doesn't need to know about this."

"Okay, okay," Marley chuckled. "But thanks for coming. It really meant a lot."

"That's what best friends are for, right?"

"Totally."

* * *

Marley skipped school the next day to spend time with Jake at the hospital. Not that she told her mother that, of course. Marley definitely didn't want her to know that her boyfriend's in the hospital.

"Hey Marles," Jake said when Marley entered his hospital room.

"Hey. How are you?" She asked as she grabbed a chair and sat down next to his bed.

"Super bored," he groaned. "There's nothing to do here. The stupid TV only gets like five channels. And they're all Spanish soap operas."

"Well then it's a good thing I came," Marley said.

"Come here." Jake patted his bed, motioning for her to join.

"Jake, that bed isn't big enough for both of us. I don't want you to get even more hurt." Marley frowned.

"I promise you won't hurt me. Just come here. Please?"

"Okay, fine," Marley said, not being able to resist Jake's puppy dog eyes. She lay down on the bed and cuddled up next to him. He put his good arm around her and started to play with her hair. "I'm glad you're not mad at me anymore," he said softly.

"How could I be? I mean, look at you."

"I didn't do this on purpose, you know." Jake turned to look at her. "It really was an accident."

Marley smiled. "I know. But can you please tell me what happened? Why didn't you come to school that day?"

"I know it sounds stupid or whatever, but I just couldn't face you or Kitty. You guys really hated me."

"I didn't _hate_ you," Marley interrupted.

"Yeah, but you still were mad at me. Anyways, I took my motorcycle and went on a little ride around Lima. After a couple of hours, I found this meadow and just lay on my back, thinking about everything. It was really peaceful. But then when I got back on my bike to go home, I wasn't thinking straight, and I lost control and crashed." Jake closed his eyes, reliving the memory.

"I'm so sorry," Marley whispered.

"Stop saying that." Jake put a hand on her cheek. "It's not your fault."

A couple tears made their way down Marley's cheeks. "I'm just so glad you're okay. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to you yet."

"Me neither." Jake kissed her forehead. "And I promise you won't ever have to."

"You don't know that for sure. What about after graduation?" Marley asked. This was the first time she brought it up. "It's only three months away."

"The year has gone by really fast," Jake commented. "But I promise we will be okay."

"But, Jake, my dream is to live in Los Angeles. I want to be famous. But it's not what _you_ want."

"Marley, I don't care where we end up," Jake said sweetly. "I just want to be with you."

A fresh batch of tears welled up in Marley's eyes. "Really?"

Jake leaned in to kiss her on the lips. "Really," he said after he pulled away.

"I love you." Marley grinned.

"I love you too." Jake lifted his hand and tucked a piece of Marley's hair behind her ear. He saw that in a movie once.

"I should probably get going. School ended ten minutes ago so my mom's probably expected me home soon," Marley grumbled, getting up from the comfortable bed. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Babe, you don't have to miss school everyday to see me." Jake smirked.

"Trust me, I'd rather be here," Marley giggled. "Bye!" She kissed his cheek and ran out the door, determined to get back home before her mom started frantically calling.

* * *

"Mom, I'm home!" Marley called out when she walked through the front door. She sniffed the air. _That's weird_, she thought. Her mom was always cooking dinner at the time she usually gets home. But tonight, there was no telltale sign of chicken cooking in the oven, or spaghetti on the stove. In fact, her mom wasn't even in the kitchen.

"Mom!" She called out again. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she heard footsteps coming downstairs. "Hey. Why aren't you making dinner? Are you sick?"

"Yes, Marley, I am sick. I'm sick of you lying to me," Ms. Rose snapped.

Marley stepped back. "What are you talking about?"

"Why didn't you tell me Jake was in the hospital, huh? Why would you want to keep that a secret from me?" Ms. Rose said angrily.

"How did you find out?" Marley sighed unhappily.

"Tina's mother told me. I guess Tina told her mom, and her mom decided that it was a good idea to tell me."

"I'm sorry, mom, I-"

"Do his parents even know about this?" Ms. Rose interrupted, getting angrier by the second. Marley knew she really messed up this time.

She took a deep breath. "His mom's at a business meeting in Atlanta. Won't be back for another two weeks."

"Then where has he been staying?"

"Um, his house. He _is_ eighteen, after all," Marley said, trying not to come across as being snarky. Unfortunately, that's exactly what her mom took it as.

"I thought I raised you not to be one of those snarky teenagers!" Ms. Rose yelled.

"Every teenager is like that, mom!" Marley yelled back, running up the stairs to her room.

"Well what happened to the sweet, polite daughter I had six months ago?"

"She grew up!" Marley shouted before slamming her door, not coming out for the rest of the night.

* * *

**So I think there will be around 3 more chapters left of this story. I'm not sure, but I plan for it to be around 3 or 4 more. But don't worry! I'm working on a long Jarley one-shot right now that will either be updated on Start Of Something New, or just posted as its own story. Depends how long it is. And after that, I'll be starting on a new Jarley multi-chapter fic! Summer's coming soon, so I'll have a lot of time to write! :D**


	13. Chapter 13

"Where do you think you're going?" Ms. Rose asked the next morning as she caught Marley heading out the door.

"I'm going to school, mom," Marley grumbled.

"That's where you better be going." Ms. Rose crossed her arms. "I even got one of those tracking apps on my phone, so I know where you will be at all times now."

"Are you serious?" Marley screamed. "I'm not a little kid, mom. I don't need you to track my every move."

"Well I'm not letting you see Jake anymore, and I need to know that you're not going to disobey me again. You're to go to school, and then come straight home."

"I can't believe this." Marley sneered. She grabbed her backpack and headed out the door, making sure to slam it hard on the way out.

* * *

"I can't believe she's tracking your phone," Kitty exclaimed when Marley got to school.

"Yeah, me neither," Marley groaned.

"Can't you just, like, turn it off?"

"No. She'll know what I'm doing. She's not dumb."

Kitty sighed. "You weren't even going to come to school today, were you?"

Marley shook her head. "No. I was going to go see Jake. Speaking of which, here he is right now," she said as she watched her phone light up with a text from him.

_-Where r u?_ It said.

_-Not coming_. Marley typed back with a heavy heart. Mom grounded me.

_-I get out of the hospital tonight. Can we see each other later?_

_-Only if my mom doesn't find out. She's watching my every move now. It'll be hard._

_-We'll find a way. I really want 2 see u._

Marley smiled into her phone. -_I want to see u 2. I'll text u later, ok?_

_-Ok. Love u._

She mentally repeated it back as she snapped her phone shut.

"So you're sure you can't come to my place after school?" Kitty asked.

"I can't," Marley grumbled. "My mom's not just banning me from seeing Jake, she's banning me from any form of socialization probably until I graduate."

"I'm sure she's not that harsh."

"I don't know. She's never been this mad at me before. I've never even been grounded before."

"Wow. Lucky kid," Kitty said. The bell started ringing and kids rushed out of class and filled up the what was once empty hallway. "I'll see you later." She waved goodbye.

"See ya," Marley sighed as she made her way to Spanish. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Good, you're home," was the first thing Marley's mom said when Marley walked through the front door after school. "I'm glad you finally listened to me for once."

Marley rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm not your rebel daughter. I've been listening to you for eighteen years."

"Then why do you choose now to start disobeying me, huh? I would have expected this when you were thirteen, but now? You're almost an adult, Marley."

"But don't you get it, mom? My life is finally getting exciting. I can't be your little girl forever."

"I know," Ms. Rose said sadly. "But you're all I have left."

Marley suddenly felt tears stinging behind her eyes. "I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me."

"Oh, get over here." Ms. Rose opened her arms and hugged Marley as tight as possible. "I'm sorry I tracked your phone. It was a little too crazy of me."

"Yeah, a bit," Marley giggled. "But it just shows you care."

"I always do."

* * *

Marley decided to tell Jake that she really shouldn't sneak out of the house to see him later that night. Not after she just made up with her mom. It wouldn't be right.

_-I'll see you tomorrow at school, though_, Marley had texted him.

_-Yeah, I don't want you to get in more trouble_, Jake had replied back.

Ms. Rose then got out her DVD of season 5 of Project Runway, insisting that she and Marley watch together.

"Are you really banning me from seeing Jake?" Marley suddenly asked.

Ms. Rose sighed. "No. That wouldn't be right. And you guys would just sneak around behind my back anyway.

Marley smirked at the irony of her mother's statement. "Good. Because he comes back to school tomorrow, so there isn't really a way to avoid him."

"He's all better now?" Ms. Rose asked.

"Yeah, the doctors are letting him leave, so everything must be okay."

"That's good to hear," she said. So anyways, I've been meaning to ask you, did any of the colleges you applied for send anything back yet?"

Marley widened her eyes. One school did send her a letter, an acceptance letter in fact, but her mom had no idea she even applied. No one did. It had always been a dream of hers to go to The Los Angeles Academy of Performing Arts, and now she was finally accepted. Marley had kept the letter stashed away in her dresser so no one would find out. She didn't even think she would ever get in, but applied anyway just in case. Needless to say, she was very surprised, and very ecstatic when she found out she got in.

"Um, not yet," Marley finally answered.

"Not even Yale?" Yale was her mother's top choice for her, but Marley didn't want to go there. She didn't have the heart to tell her mother that she hadn't even applied.

"Nope," Marley said quickly, "but I'm sure I'll get something soon."

"There's always the University of Lima as a back up if you don't get into any of the schools you want," Ms. Rose said.

Marley stuck out her tongue and made a face. "No, I want to go to a big city."

"Well, if you need to make a big decision, I'm always here for you."

"Thanks, mom. I'm, um, going to go to my room to finish some homework."

"Alright, sweetie," Ms. Rose called as Marley ran up to her room.

Marley opened her dresser and got out the acceptance letter. She sighed heavily. Her mom would be crushed if she found out that Marley hadn't told her about it. But she wanted to live in L.A. again. When she was a little girl, Marley would always pass by the LAAPA campus on her way to school, and just stare at it in awe. And she missed L.A. She would do anything to go back.

But then there was Jake. Would he really go with her? Sure, he says that now, but would he still want to after school's over? Marley wasn't so sure. Nevertheless, she stuffed the letter back in her dresser, deciding to wait. She knew she shouldn't keep putting it off, but she still needed time to think.

* * *

"Jake! You're back!" Marley shrieked when she spotted Jake the next morning at school. Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment once she realized how loud she had been. She ran to hug him, and he spun her around with his one good arm. "I'm glad you're here," she grinned.

"I hate to say it, but I actually kind of missed this place," Jake chuckled.

"Yeah right," Kitty said as she walked up to the couple.

"Nice to see you too, Kitty." Jake tousled her ponytail. "I'm surprised you're still a Cheerio, though. I thought you would have quit by now. You know, because you're so lazy?"

"I'll have you know, I actually really like being a Cheerio," Kitty said, putting a hand on her hip. "And I'm the only one who volunteers to be on the bottom of the pyramid so I can get an awesome view of what's hiding underneath everyone's skirt."

"You would," Jake muttered. "So," he turned back to Marley, "wanna come over to my house after school? There's something I want to give you."

"Yeah, sure."

"You're not still grounded?"

"Nope. My mom and I made up. I'm so glad."

"Good. You always seem really sad when you guys fight," Jake said as he took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Yeah, I know. I should probably get going to class. I'll meet you here after school." Marley gave him a quick peck on the lips before closing her locker and walking down the hallway to European History.

* * *

"Want anything to drink?" Jake asked when he and Marley got back to his house fifteen minutes later. Marley was hesitant about them riding his motorcycle after what happened, but Jake promised that he'd be more careful this time. She _did_ trust him, after all.

"Uh, water's fine," Marley said as she made herself comfortable on the couch. "So, what is it that you wanted to show me?"

"Hold on!" Jake called from the kitchen. "Okay," he said as he walked back into the living room, holding two tickets to something-Marley couldn't tell what. "So you know how prom is coming up right?"

"Right," Marley said as a smile grew on her face. She recalled seeing posters all around the school of the upcoming junior/senior prom earlier today.

"So, I kind of got two tickets, and I was wondering if would you like to go with me?"

Marley felt tears sting her eyes. She had always fantasized about going to prom, and now it was finally happening. "H-How did you get tickets? I thought they weren't on sale yet."

"Mr. Schue hooked me up with these," Jake explained. "So it's a yes, right?" He asked hopefully.

Marley grinned. "Of course!" She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her in for a passionate kiss. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, though, because Kitty chose that exact moment to burst in.

"Please stop making out," Kitty said, making a disgusted face.

"It's my house, Kitty," Jake pointed out. "And you need to learn how to knock. It's pretty easy."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Marley asked. "I thought you and that Cheerio were hanging out."

"Nah, Nicole said she only wanted to be friends after she noticed me checking her out. I guess she got creeped out, so she left. I swear, there are no other lesbians at this school!" Kitty yelled in frustration.

"I'm sure that's not true." Marley placed a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder.

"And you're _sure_ Tina's not into me?" Kitty whined.

"I'm sure," Marley laughed. "Oh, that reminds me! I bet she and Mike are going to prom. We can all go together!" She clapped her hands in excitement.

"You guys are going to prom?" Kitty asked. Marley sensed sadness in her tone.

"You're welcome to come with us, you know," she offered.

"Nah, I don't want to be your third wheel," Kitty replied. "I'll find someone."

"You sure?" Jake asked.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me. I'll at least find a boy to go with me. They've been drooling all over me the second I walked into this school. I'll have no problem."

"Okay then, well you probably should get going," Jake said, playfully shoving Kitty out of his house.

"Oh, you want to spend time with your girlfriend, huh? I see how it is. Marley, tomorrow after school we're going to the mall to get prom dresses," Kitty said.

"Actually, my mom always makes my dresses for parties and stuff."

"Well prom's not just an average party. Prom is special. You're wearing a nice, expensive dress."

"But Kitty, I don't have that kind of money to spend on a dress."

"Well then it's a good thing my mom believes in high fashion and is willing to pay for both of us to look our best. I already told her about you."

"Kitty, your mom really doesn't have to do that," Marley argued, but secretly wished _her_ mom had a little bit more money to spend on her.

"Come on, Marley. Friends help each other out," Kitty said.

"If I were you, I'd take that offer," Jake cut in. "Kitty doesn't help out a lot of people.

"It's true," Kitty agreed.

"Okay, fine," Marley gave in after a couple of minutes. "But I'll make it up to you somehow."

"Oh my gosh, this is going to be so exciting!" Kitty squealed. "I can do your hair, and your makeup, and your nails, and everything else needed to make you beautiful!"

"Marley's already beautiful," Jake said.

"Awww, thanks baby." Marley gave Jake a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Okay, yes, she's already beautiful, but this will enhance her beauty by like, 100%," Kitty said.

"I can't believe this!" Marley beamed. "I'm going to prom!"

"Dude, you're acting like you've never even been to a dance before." Kitty smirked.

"Well, I went to charity events at my old school, and those were pretty formal." Marley shrugged.

Kitty shook her head. "You are so lame. But whatever. We're going to make prom the best night of your entire life. You can count on that."

Marley grinned. "Can't wait!"


	14. Chapter 14

"Marley, I think I found the perfect dress for you!" Kitty squealed as she pulled a dress from the rack at Macy's. "Here, try it on!" She handed the dress to Marley, who was in the dressing room, which was practically overflowing with hundreds of dress options to choose from.

"Kitty, you said that five dresses ago," Jake groaned. Kitty and Marley dragged him along to go prom dress shopping, and he was clearly in a bad mood because of it. However, his mood quickly changed when he saw his girlfriend step out of the dressing room in the most beautiful dress he has ever seen on a girl. "W-Wow," he choked out, completely in awe. "Y-You look beautiful."

"I don't know..." Marley placed her hands on the bright purple fabric. It had a pretty sweetheart neckline, and poofed out at the hips. The many layers of purple tulle that covered the dress made Marley feel like a princess. "Are you sure you like it?"

"Okay, since Jake lost his ability to speak, I'll take it from here," Kitty said. "Marley, you look fantastic. And I don't say that often."

"Tina, what do you think?" Marley asked her other best friend.

Tina stopped riffling through the prom dresses and turned to Marley. "Wow, you look like a movie star," she gushed. "It's so pretty."

"Yeah, purple's definitely your color," Kitty agreed. "Okay, my turn." She grabbed a short gold dress from a hanger. After a minute in the dressing room, she stepped out in the dress and modeled for the girls and Jake. "You like?" She asked eagerly.

"Love!" Tina exclaimed. "You look awesome!"

"You really do," Marley said. "It almost matches your hair."

Kitty giggled and fluffed up her golden curls. "Now if only a girl can appreciate how smokin' I am and go with me," she sighed.

"I'm sure someone will ask you at the last minute." Jake tried to be helpful.

"Alright, Tina's turn," Kitty said, disregarding Jake's comment.

"Okie dokie." Tina walked into the dressing room with a black dress in hand.

"Tina, are you sure you want to go with black?" Kitty asked once she saw the color choice. "We don't want people to think that you mistook prom for a funeral."

Tina didn't answer. Instead, she confidently strolled out the dressing room, her head held high.

Both Marley and Kitty's jaws fell wide open. "It looks..._good_!" Kitty finally said.

"Yeah," Marley agreed. "It's like, punk rock-ish, but totally you!"

"Thanks!" Tina beamed. "I hope Mike likes it."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll like it better off of you than on," Kitty smirked.

"Kitty!" Tina smacked her friend lightly on the arm.

"Oh, come on. Don't act like you and Mike haven't totally done it." Kitty gave Tina a knowing look.

"Okay, fine. We have," Tina said, a blush growing on her cheeks.

"Seriously?" Marley clasped a hand over her mouth. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well it's not like it's something I can say casually," Tina said.

Kitty eyed Jake, who was fiddling with the ends of his shirt in sheer boredom. "Let's talk over here, ladies," she guided Marley and Tina over to the other end of the store.

"Be right back, Jake!" Marley called out.

"Okay. I'll be here," Jake said without looking up.

"So how was it like?" Marley asked Tina.

Tina blushed again. "It was amazing," she confessed. "It was everything I'd imagined it to be."

"Well congratulations on finally losing your v-card." Kitty clapped.

"Have you?" Marley asked Kitty.

"Oh, totally." Kitty waved it off as if was no big deal.

"What was it like?" Tina asked.

"Oh, that's a long story. But let's talk about Marley over here. Have you and Jake-"

"Nope." Marley quickly answered.

"Why not?" Tina asked. "I mean, you guys have been dating for months."

"It's because she's a prude," Kitty stated.

"I'm not a prude," Marley snapped. "I'm just...waiting for the right time. And the right person."

"Marley, open your eyes." Kitty said. "Jake's the right person! You guys love each other, right?"

"Well, yeah," Marley said.

"Then it shouldn't matter when the right time is. All that matters is that you have the right person."

"Has Jake ever, you know, with another girl?"

Kitty shook her head. "He's never been with another girl as long as you. Trust me, Marley. He's the one."

Marley thought long and hard for a couple of minutes. "We should, um, go pay for our dresses," she finally said.

"We'll talk about this more later," Kitty said. "Come on Jake!" She shouted after they payed. "We're leaving!"

"Finally-I mean, um, was it over that quickly?"

"Nice save," Marley laughed, and Jake responded by kissing her cheek affectionately. She thought of what it would be like to be with Jake in that way. Yes, she thought about how nervous and scary it would be at first, but then she realized that she was ready. She loved Jake. And Jake loved her. So what were they waiting for?

* * *

Marley woke up Saturday morning feeling anxious, yet excited. This was finally it. Prom. The day she's fantasized about since she was thirteen. She spent the whole morning and afternoon pampering herself. First, she took a long bubble bath. Then, she painted her fingernails and toenails with sparkly purple nail polish that matched her dress perfectly. After, she spent over an hour trying out different hairstyles that would look best. After deciding on a half up, half down style, she finally put on the dress and applied some light makeup. After she was done, she took a step back and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked beautiful. And more importantly, she felt beautiful.

The doorbell rang, and Ms. Rose called from downstairs. "Marley, your date's here!"

"I think you know me well enough for you to call me Jake," Marley heard Jake say from downstairs.

"Oh, I'm just joking with you," Ms. Rose said. "Oh Marley..." Her eyes widened when she saw her daughter walk downstairs.

Jake's gaze fell on Marley, and he too was speechless.

Marley giggled nervously, snapping both Ms. Rose and Jake back to reality.

"You look really handsome, Jake," Marley said.

Jake looked down at his standard black suit and tie. "Thanks. You look...You look amazing." He grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers together.

"You two look adorable!" Ms. Rose gushed. "Now let me take your pictures!" She quickly got her camera out and started snapping dozen of pictures of the couple.

"Knock knock!" Marley heard a voice call from out the front door, and recognized it immediately.

"Kitty! Tina!" Marley ran to hug her two best friends, who both looked beautiful as well. "Hey Mike!" Marley waved to Tina's boyfriend, who looked pretty handsome as well.

"Hey Marley," Mike said shyly.

"So, ready to go?" Kitty called out excitedly.

"Yes!" Tina, Mike, Jake, and Marley shouted.

"Alright, have fun. I'll you tomorrow, okay Marley?" (Marley had told her mother that she and Kitty were sleeping over at Tina's house. And she wasn't lying-for once.)

"Yep. Bye mom!" Marley closed the door behind her, ready to dive into the greatest night of her life.

* * *

"Wow," was the first thing that came out of Marley's mouth when she walked into the McKinley High gym. She stopped to take in all the sights. All around her, kids were dancing to the techno music that was blaring from the DJ table. She spotted some kids from her Spanish class crowd around the dessert table, stuffing tons of pink frosted cupcakes in their expensive tuxedo pockets, or in the girls' case, their purses.

"Come on, let's dance!" Jake grabbed her hand and took her to the center of the dance floor. He started dancing the same way he did when he took her to that party what seemed like ages ago. Marley tried to follow along to what Jake was doing, but miserably failed.

"Why can't I dance like you?" she shouted over the loud music.

"It's a gift and a curse," Jake said, still dancing. Marley wondered how he could talk and dance at the same time without getting distracted.

"How is it a curse?" Marley asked.

"You don't know how many people have teased me about my dancing skills. Guys _can_ dance, you know," he said to no one in particular.

"I know, and you are an amazing dancer!" Marley shouted. "Maybe you can do that as a career."

"I don't know," Jake said. "But let's not talk about the future and all that right now. Let's just...dance."

Sounds good," Marley giggled.

"Hey, look at Kitty!" Jake pointed to a corner of the room. Marley looked and saw her friend dancing with that ditzy blond girl-Brittany-from her European History class.

"Wow, look at that. She finally found a girl to dance with." Marley smiled.

"I've never seen her look so happy," Jake observed.

"Yeah, it's nice," Marley said, truly happy for her friend.

* * *

"So is this like any of the parties you go to in Lima Heights?" Marley asked as she and Jake sat down at one of the tables to rest a bit.

"No, this is much better," Jake laughed.

"Good," Marley said. She was about to open her mouth to speak again when she was suddenly cut off by Principal Figgins speaking into the microphone.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen," he spoke, "it's time to grab that special person of yours because it's time for the slow dance."

Marley watched couples race to the dance floor after Figgins finished. Jake stood up and reached his hand out. "Would you care for this dance?" he said in a way so cheesy, Marley had to laugh.

"Why I'd be honored too," she said in a fake British accent. She stood up and followed Jake as they weaved through the many couples to find a good spot. Christina Perri's A Thousand Years began to play and Marley felt Jake place his hands on her waist. She linked her arms around Jake's neck and they started to slowly sway back and forth. "I'm so glad I'm here with you," she mumbled into Jake's neck.

"So am I" Jake whispered back. "There's no one I'd rather be with."

Marley eyes dotted with tears. "Me neither."

* * *

"It's time to announce this year's prom king and queen!" Principal Figgins said an hour and a half later. "Will all the candidates please come to the stage?"

Marley saw three hockey players who she didn't really know walk up to the stage, and three Cheerios-probably their girlfriends- walk up with them.

"And your 2013 prom king is..." Principal Figgins took a dramatic pause, "Rick-The Stick-Nelson!" He shouted, and everyone cheered.

Marley watched as the guy on the left with the weird mullet ran to the mic as Figgins crowned him king. "Hell yeah!" He screamed into the mic.

"Settle down," Figgins said, putting his hand on Rick's shoulder to guide him back to his spot. "And your 2013 prom queen is..." Principal Figgins paused again to look at the slip of paper in his hands. "Receiving the majority of write in votes, your prom queen is, Kitty Wilde!"

Marley opened her mouth so wide, she thought her jaw was going to drop to the floor. Jake stood beside her, his face sporting the exact same expression.

Kitty ran up to the stage and took the crown from Figgins. "I'm prom queen bitches!" She shouted into the mic. She grabbed the crown and jumped off the stage, heading straight towards Jake and Marley.

"How on earth did you win?" Jake asked when Kitty got to them.

Kitty paused, trying to catch her breath. "All the guys think that I'm hot, so they voted for me instead. And double points since I'm a lesbian and they all think that's hot too."

Jake shook his head. "You're unbelievable," he said jokingly.

"Kitty, I can't believe that you won!" Tina shouted as she and Mike joined their little circle.

"I know. I just have that effect on people, you know?" Kitty said. "Now come on. It's prom! Let's dance more!" She grabbed Marley's hand and started to slow dance with her. "I can steal her away for a couple minutes, can't I?" She asked Jake.

"Yeah, sure." Jake laughed. "But bring her back soon. I want to squeeze in one more dance before it's time to leave."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the gym started to empty out. It was already almost midnight, so people were wanting to get home.

"We're gonna head out," Tina said. She and Mike were grabbing their coats. "See you guys on Monday."

"Yeah, I'm gonna leave too," Kitty said.

"Wait, I thought we were having a sleepover," Marley said to her two friends.

"I think there's a much better way for you to spend tonight," Kitty smirked, eyeing Jake.

Marley smiled, realizing that tonight was actually kind of the perfect night to spend with him. She quickly said goodbye to Tina, Mike, and Kitty, and headed back to Jake, who was hailing a taxi.

"So, your place first?" Jake asked when they got in the cab.

"Um, I was actually thinking maybe we can spend the night, you know, together?" She said, not intending it to sound more like a question.

"Really?" Jake asked, his face lighting up.

"Yeah." Marley nodded her head confidently. "I'm sure."

* * *

"We don't have to, like, do anything," Jake said when they got back to his house. "We can just sleep."

"Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm ready. To, you know, have sex."

"A-Are you sure?" Jake asked.

"Yeah," Marley said, more confident than ever. "I love you, and I think this is the perfect time."

"I love you so much," Jake said as he kissed her passionately. He took her hand and led her to his room. "You're sure, right?"

Marley giggled. "Yes, I'm sure."

* * *

Marley woke the next morning snuggled next to Jake. Memories of the night before flew through her mind. It was amazing. The way Jake was so sweet and took care of her melted her heart. It was his first time, too. Marley had never felt so complete.

Jake opened his eyes and turned his head to face her. "So how was last night?"

Marley grinned. "It was amazing," she sighed happily.

Jake grinned back. "I'm glad. But you should probably get home before your mom starts wondering where you are. It's almost noon."

"Yeah, I guess I should be going," Marley put her clothes on and followed Jake downstairs. "See you Monday," she said, kissing his cheek.

"See you Monday," he echoed back.

Ten minutes later, when Marley got home, she immediately wrote a note on the fridge to her mom, who was out grocery shopping, and ran up to her room, eager to text Kitty and Tina to meet up with her later to talk about her night with Jake. They would totally freak out. She couldn't wait.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! I'm sorry for the long wait. I've been really busy with finals, but now that school is finally over, I have a lot of time to write! Yay! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy :D**

* * *

"You had sex with him?" Kitty screeched.

Marley nodded in content. "Yep."

"Oh, I'm so proud of you." Kitty got up to hug her friend. Marley, Kitty, and Tina were all at Marley's house, and Marley decided to spill about her night with Jake.

"So how was it?" Tina asked excitedly.

"It was amazing," Marley confessed. "I really love him."

"How sweet," Kitty said with a tinge of sadness to her voice.

"Don't worry Kitty, I'm sure you'll find someone." Tina patted her friend's shoulder.

"I know you were lying," Marley blurted out.

Kitty looked up. "What?"

"I know you've never had sex before," Marley clarified.

Kitty was about to deny it, but then realized, what was the point? Marley was her best friend; she should be able to tell her anything.

"How did you know?"

"I could tell." Marley shrugged. "I'm not mad at you or anything, I just want to know why you didn't tell me the truth."

"Because I talk all this shit about being a sex god and I dress like a slut, and everybody just assumed that I'm not a virgin."

Marley got up to hug Kitty. "It's okay to be a virgin," Marley said. "And you don't don't dress like a slut. Most of the time."

"You think having sex once now makes you some sort of expert on it?" Kitty said bitterly.

"I'm just trying to comfort you," Marley said. "You don't have to listen to me."

Kitty furrowed her brows and didn't say anything else.

Tina broke the silence a couple minutes later by saying, "Please don't argue, guys. This is supposed to be a happy time."

Marley sighed. "Tina's right. Aren't you happy for me?"

"Yeah, I am. Really. I'm sorry for snapping at you, Marley," Kitty said, her voice cracking a bit.

Marley smiled. "I forgive you."

Tina let out a sigh of relief. "Alright guys. Hug it out."

Marley giggled and enveloped Kitty into a giant hug. "I'm so glad you and Jake are happy together," Kitty whispered in Marley's ear.

"Me too." Marley grinned. She couldn't think of anyone she'd rather be with.

* * *

Two weeks passed and Jake and Marley were still going strong. Graduation was only a couple of days away, and Marley still hadn't told anyone about her acceptance into the Los Angeles Academy of Performing Arts. She knew she probably should soon, though. Time was running out. So, she decided to tell the two people who would probably understand the most.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier that you got accepted?" Tina asked after Marley broke the news.

"I don't know, I just didn't know what you guys would say."

"Well, of course we're happy for you," Kitty chimed in.

"Yeah, totally," Tina agreed.

"Have you told Jake yet?" Kitty asked.

Marley shook her head. "No, not yet."

"You probably should. Why are you so scared of telling him?"

"What if he doesn't want to come with me?" Marley said softly.

Kitty gave Marley a look of sympathy. "Of course he's going to come with you. He loves you."

"But what is he doesn't want to go to LA? What if there's nothing there for him?"

"Marley, Jake's not going to care where you guys end up. All he cares about is that he's with you," Tina said.

Marley thought for a second. "I'm going to go talk to him," she decided.

"Tell us what he says!" Kitty shouted as Marley ran out of the room.

"Yeah, we'll be here...In your room," Tina said.

"Let's snoop around her room," Kitty said with an evil smile once Marley left the house.

Tina gave her friend a look. "Seriously?"

* * *

Marley took the bus to Jake's house and rang his doorbell twenty minutes later.

"Hey, Marles!" He greeted happily, kissing her cheek.

"Hey, there's, um, something I need to tell you," she said nervously, biting her lip.

"What is it?" He asked, walking over to the couch. Marley sat down and took a deep breath.

"So, um, I got an acceptance letter into a college."

Jake grinned. "Marley that's great! What college?"

"The Los Angeles Academy of Performing Arts."

"Marles, that's amazing. When did you find out?"

Marley froze. She knew she should really tell the truth, but she didn't want him to know that she had known for almost two months.

"I found out in March," she said, deciding to tell the truth.

"What? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Jake asked, a confused look on his face.

"I didn't want to pressure you into coming with me," Marley sighed. "I didn't know if we'd still be together by graduation, and I wasn't sure if you'd want to go with me."

"Marley, of course I want to go with you," Jake said, taking her hand in his. "I'll go wherever you go."

"Really?" Marley asked, her voice starting to crack. She knew she was about to cry.

Jake smiled. "Yeah. I love you, and I want to be with you."

Marley let out a large sigh of relief. "I love you too."

"Have you told your mom yet?" Jake asked.

"No, not yet. She's not going to want me to go."

"Of course she will. She want's you to be happy, right?"

Marley frowned. "Well, yeah, but she really wanted me to go to Yale. She wants me to have an actual career, not be a singer."

"Just tell her that singing and performing is your dream, and that it makes you happy. I'm sure she'll understand," Jake said reassuringly.

"Yeah, I hope. I'll talk to her later. Right now I just want to relax. Let's watch some tv." Marley got up from the couch to grab the remote. "I'm totally in the mood for some reality trash."

* * *

"Oh crap!" Marley lifted her head up from Jake's shoulder an hour later, suddenly remembering something.

"What is it?" Jake yawned.

"I left Tina and Kitty in my room for the past two hours."

Jake held in a laugh. "I'm sure they went home."

"No, they said they'd wait for me to come back. I told them I'd be back soon. I should probably go," she groaned.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, I guess. Just remember that we have graduation practice in the morning," Jake reminded.

"Oh right." She couldn't believe that she was graduating high school in two days. The year had gone by so fast. "Talk to you later," she kissed Jake's cheek quickly and ran out the door.

* * *

"Hey, sorry it took so long," Marley said breathlessly once she entered her room twenty minutes later. "What are you guys doing?" She asked when she saw Kitty and Tina with green mud masks smeared all over their faces.

"You were gone for a while so we decided to pamper ourselves while we were here," Kitty answered.

"You went through my things?" Marley asked, getting a little annoyed.

"We were bored," Tina shrugged.

"You guys could have gone home," Marley pointed out.

"Yeah, but your house is so much cooler," Kitty said. "And you have like a million nail polishes. We couldn't resist." She wiggled her toes for Marley to see.

"So what did Jake say when you told him?" Tina changed the subject.

"He told me that he'd go with me," Marley said, a smile appearing on her face.

"Now all you need to do is tell your mom," Tina said. "That shouldn't be hard."

"I don't know about that," Marley mumbled. "Anyways, she'll be home soon so you guys should probably go."

"Okay, okay," Kitty groaned and she got up. She waddled over to her flip flops, as her toenails were still wet, and slipped them on. Tina walked into the bathroom to wash the mud mask off.

"See you tomorrow," Tina called out as she walked out the door.

"Bye guys," Marley said, and closed the door behind her. She went downstairs and decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies, hoping it will help lessen the blow when she tells her mom about the acceptance letter. Her mom was always happy when Marley baked cookies.

A couple minutes later, the doorbell rang, revealing Jake at the door.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Marley asked as she let him in.

"I wanted to be here when you told your mom about LA. You know, for support," Jake said.

Marley grinned. "You're the best. I'm glad you're here. You can help me bake cookies!"

* * *

"Sweetie, I'm home!" Ms. Rose called from the front door an hour later.

"In the kitchen, mom!" Marley shouted, taking the cookies out of the oven.

"Hi, Ms. Rose," Jake said.

"Jake, hi! I didn't realize you were here. Do I smell cookies?" She asked.

"Yep." Marley smiled brightly. "I made them for you."

Ms. Rose narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?"

"Huh?"

"Whenever you bake for me, there's always something you want."

Marley and Jake took a seat at the kitchen counter. "There's something I need to tell you," Marley sighed.

"What is it, sweetie?" Ms. Rose asked as she took a bite of the cookie. "Mmm, these are delicious, Marles."

"Thanks," Marley quickly said. "So, um, you know how I applied to some colleges a couple months ago?"

Her mom nodded. "Yes."

"Well, um, I got a letter back."

"From where?" Ms. Rose asked, sporting a huge grin.

Jake gripped her hand from under the table for support as she answered. "The Los Angeles Academy of Performing Arts," she said, watching the excitement disappear from her mom's face.

"Oh, I, um, didn't even know you applied there. What about Yale?"

"I never applied there," Marley whispered.

"What? Why? You told me you did," Ms. Rose said, getting angry.

"I don't want to go there, mom. I don't want to be a lawyer, or a doctor, or a teacher, or any of those things. I want to be a singer."

"Sweetie, the entertainment business is really hard to get into," Ms. Rose said.

"I know, but it's my dream. I don't care how long it takes me, I just know I want to do it. I want to be famous one day."

"Do you plan on coming with her?" Ms. Rose turned to Jake.

"Yep," Jake said without hesitation.

"I just want to make sure this is what you want to do, Marley," Ms. Rose said.

"I'm positive it is," Marley assured. "It's what I wanted to do since I was eight years old.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Marles," her mom said, tearing up a little.

"Wait, so you're letting me go?" Marley jumped up, running to hug her mom.

"Yes, sweetie, I'm letting you go. I want you to do whatever makes you happy."

"Thank you so much," Marley mumbled into her mom's neck.

"I don't know what I'm going to do without you," Ms. Rose sighed.

"I'm not leaving until the end of summer, mom," Marley laughed, getting a little teary eyed as well.

"Yeah, I know, but still," Ms. Rose chuckled. "Jake get over here," she said when she saw him awkwardly standing a couple feet away. "Thank you," she said to him when he joined the hug.

"For what?" Jake asked.

"For making my daughter happy," Ms. Rose stated. "She needs someone like you in her life."

Jake grinned. "I'm glad she decided to let me into her life." He caught Marley's eye and saw her blush.

"So am I," Marley said back. And she totally meant it.

* * *

"So that went well," Jake said a couple hours later after they all had dinner together. Ms. Rose had retired up to her room, leaving Jake and Marley on the couch.

"Yeah, I'm so glad," Marley said, feeling so grateful. "You know, my mom really sees you as part of the family."

"I'd rather be apart of your family any day than my own. I mean, my mom's been away on that stupid business trip for a whole month and she hasn't even called me once."

Marley leaned her head on Jake's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Jake ran a hand through her hair. "It's okay. I like it better this way. And I can't wait to finally get out of this town."

"Me too," Marley agreed. "But I'm going to miss Tina and Kitty so much."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll end up in LA at some point. Kitty won't want to be anyplace on her own, and Mike told me that Tina was also looking at schools in LA," Jake said.

"Seriously?" Marley gasped. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"I think she wanted it to be a surprise. Oops," Jake mumbled.

"I can't believe this is happening. Everything's just working out perfectly." Marley grinned. "I'm so happy."

Jake smiled as he ruffled Marley's hair. "Me too." He had never felt more happier in his entire life. Thanks to the girl sitting next to him, he would finally have a bright future to look forward to.

* * *

**So I'm really sad to say that this story is coming to an end soon. One more chapter plus an epilogue. But, I'm in the process of writing a long Jarley one-shot, and I'm going to start another chaptered fic soon. As always, I hope you liked this chapter, and let me know what you think in the reviews. Love you guys 3**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys! So, sadly this is the last chapter before the epilogue :( But I have so many more amazing stories planned for our favorite couple. Anyways, check out my most recent one-shot if you haven't yet: Marley Rose and The Sex Sharks. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

"I'd like to present to you, the class of 2013!" Principal Figgins shouted into the microphone. Marley threw her graduation cap into the air and cheered along with her class. She couldn't believe she was actually done with high school. No more tests, no more homework, and more importantly, no more mean girls. Well, at least Marley hoped.

She looked out into the audience and saw her mother quietly dabbing her eyes with a tissue. Marley caught her eye and blew her a kiss.

_Love you_, her mom mouthed.

Marley grinned and turned around to find her friends in the midst of all the graduating seniors. She suddenly felt a hand grip her own. She looked up and saw Jake, who was smiling widely at her. "We did it," he said.

Marley gripped his hand tighter. She knew how important this was for him. Jake had told her that he didn't think he would even be able to graduate high school. Marley was so proud of him.

Out of the corner of her eye, Marley saw Kitty bounce over to her and Jake. "Hey, I'm throwing a graduation party at my house after this. Wanna come?"

"Your mom's letting you?" Jake asked in disbelief.

"My mom's taking a little vacay in Hawaii. Won't be back till next week."

"Your mom missed your graduation?" Marley asked, a sad expression flashing across her face.

Kitty sighed. "She didn't want to miss it, but I insisted that she should go to Hawaii. I mean, even though she's made an effort to be with me more, I can tell she's still struggling to accept me. I think she needs this. Plus, I like having the house to myself. Now I can throw a party with alcohol and nobody can stop me."

"We'll be there," Jake laughed.

"Great. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go try to tell Tina. If only I can pull those two apart." Kitty rolled her eyes as she glanced at Tina, who was passionately kissing Mike in the corner.

"Seriously guys, get a room!" Marley heard Kitty yell. She turned around and saw Tina and Mike break apart, both of them glaring angrily at Kitty. Marley shook her head, laughing. Some things would never change.

* * *

Marley needed space to herself. Fast. The party at Kitty's house was out of control, and if Marley didn't get out of there quick, she knew she would pass out. She decided to make a run for Kitty's room upstairs. She knew that Jake would probably be looking for her soon, but she needed air.

She opened Kitty's door and took a long, deep breath. Parties just weren't her thing. Marley observed her surroundings while taking a water bottle out of her bag and took giant sips. Come to think of it, Marley had never actually seen Kitty's room before. By the looks of it, it didn't seem like Kitty had redone it since she was five. The walls were painted bright pink, there were stuffed animals all around the room, and there was a giant poster of Britney Spears on the ceiling right above her bed.

"Thought I'd find you here," Marley heard a familiar voice say. Jake walked into the room and joined her on Kitty's bed, totally unfazed by the girliness of the room.

"Kitty doesn't have a younger sister by chance, does she?" Marley asked.

Jake chuckled. "Nope. This is all her's. Surprising, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Why is her room like this?" Marley asked, picking up a stuffed animal pig.

Jake sighed heavily. "Well, it's kind of a long story, but basically, her dad gave her all this stuff and painted her room like this before he left when Kitty was six. I guess Kitty wanted have some kind of memory of her dad."

"Oh." Marley nodded. "So how did you know I was up here?"

"I know you don't do so well with parties. I knew you'd be somewhere getting some space to yourself," Jake said. "But we should probably get out of here soon, because if Kitty sees us in her room, she's gonna-"

"What are you doing in here?!" Kitty shrieked, bursting through the door, causing both Jake and Marley to jump.

"Freak out," Jake finished.

"Why are you guys in here?" Kitty asked more calmly.

"I needed some space from the party downstairs," Marley said.

"Well, my room's off limits," Kitty snapped.

"It's okay, Kitty, she already knows why your room's like this," Jake said.

"Just, please don't tell anyone about this," Kitty pleaded.

"Kitty, don't worry. I'm not telling anyone," Marley assured. "But I have just one question."

"What?"

"Why Britney?" Marley pointed to the ceiling.

"'Cause she's awesome and I've been in love with her ever since I was ten." Kitty shrugged.

"Are those lipstick marks on her face?" Jake looked closer at the poster.

"No," Kitty quickly said, her face getting red.

"Whatever you say," Jake quietly mumbled under his breath.

"Hey, wanna get out of here?" Kitty suddenly asked.

"This is your party." Marley frowned. "Don't you have to be here?"

"Nah. I trust Tina to keep things under control."

"Where do you want to go?" Jake said.

"I don't know, anywhere. We're adults now, right?"

"I-I guess." Marley shrugged.

"Oooh, I know a place," Kitty said. "C'mon. Follow me."

"We're not going anyplace illegal, right?" Marley spoke up.

Kitty laughed. "No, Marley, we're not."

Marley crossed her arms. "I was just making sure."

* * *

"Here we are," Kitty said after walking for half an hour.

"Where exactly are we?" Marley asked, observing her surroundings. It looked like they were in the middle of nowhere.

"Look over there," Kitty pointed.

Marley turned her head and saw a giant tree with what looked like a tree house in it. "Whoa. That's so cool," she marveled.

"I know right? I was walking around here one day a couple years ago and just found this here. Nobody ever came near here, so I always went up there when I was feeling sad or lonely," Kitty said. "C'mon. Let's go up."

"Are you sure it will be safe for all three of us to go up there?" Jake asked concernedly.

"Yeah, it's pretty sturdy," Kitty said. "I promise, you guys will love it."

Jake shrugged and followed Kitty and Marley up the ladder to the tree house.

"Wow," Marley gushed when they all got inside. "This is amazing."

Kitty nodded. "I know. I have no idea who built this, but I'm so glad they did. I could stay up here for hours."

"This is so calming," Marley said as she sat down, overlooking the landscape beneath her.

"So I wanted to talk to you guys about LA," Kitty said as she sat down next to Jake and Marley.

"What about LA?" Jake asked.

"I want to come with you guys."

Marley's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Kitty smiled. "Yeah."

"But what would you do there for a living?"

"I don't know, I'll find something. Maybe I can work at a Forever 21 or something."

"What about college?" Marley asked.

Kitty waved it off. "Nah, I don't think college is for me. I'd rather just get a job or something. I'm smart enough."

"Whatever you say," Jake muttered jokingly.

"Shut up, Puckerman!" Kitty playfully shoved him. "But seriously, I want to come with you guys."

"That's great, Kitty." Marley leaned against her friend. "It wouldn't feel right without you."

"Just don't put a bunch of Britney posters all around our apartment," Jake warned.

"No promises." Kitty winked. "So, um, how are we able to afford an apartment on our own? It's not the cheapest."

"My mom said she was willing to give me money," Marley said.

"Really? That's so nice," Kitty said.

"Yeah, she's the best," Marley agreed. "I'm going to miss her though. I've never been away from her before."

"We can always come back and visit," Jake said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I wonder where Tina and Mike are going. I doubt they're breaking up," Kitty said.

"God, I don't think they'll ever break up," Marley laughed. "Hmm, speaking of Tina, she just texted me now." Marley looked down at her phone. "She wants to know where we are."

"We should probably get back to the party before it gets out of control," Kitty sighed.

"It's been out of control since it first started," Marley mumbled as she climbed down the treehouse.

"Party pooper," Kitty teased.

"Shut up." Marley rolled her eyes. "Let's just get back."

* * *

"Jake, I'm scared," Marley said later that evening back at her house. Marley's mom was out with some friends, so Marley invited Jake over.

"Why are you scared, babe?" Jake asked, turning to look at his girlfriend.

"What if the future isn't as great as we think it will be? What if living in LA doesn't work out?"

"Hey, don't think like that. We're going to go to LA, you're going to become a famous singer, and we're going to be happy," Jake assured.

"You don't know that for sure," Marley said.

"Yeah, I know, but I want to stay positive."

"I guess you're right. "Do you still have any idea of what _you_ want to do when we get to LA?" Marley asked. They were focusing on Marley's dreams so much, which wasn't very fair.

"I've kind of been thinking about it, actually," Jake said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. When I was really little, my mom signed me up for dance classes, and I always thought it would be really fun to be like a dance instructor to little kids or something like that."

"That's so cool," Marley said encouragingly. "You would be great at that."

"But do you think I would be good with kids? What if I lose my temper or something?"

"Jake, you haven't been like that in months. You've learned to control it."

"Because of you." Jake smiled and looked at her adoringly.

Marley blushed and grinned back. "You'll be great with kids."

Jake bit his lip. "Yeah, I hope."

* * *

Marley put a lease on an apartment in LA in the end of June; she, Jake, and Kitty would be moving there at the end of August. Marley had used money she earned from babysitting when she was thirteen to pay for two plane tickets for her and Kitty to fly to LA to check out apartments. Jake had taken some summer classes at the University of Lima to further his education, so he was unable to go with them. Marley found the cutest little apartment in her old neighborhood where she used to live, and it was perfect. She couldn't be happier.

In July, Marley took some vocal and acting classes at the Lima Community Theater to prepare her for the future. Kitty, against her will, started to take summer classes with Jake. Marley knew it was best for her, so she forced her to. She knew Kitty would thank her later.

Marley found a part-time job in the beginning of August to help pay for utilities for their new apartment. She worked as a barista at the Lima Bean. Jake sold his old guitar that he hadn't played in years on Ebay to get some extra cash, and Kitty sold her old clothes that she never wore anymore. Marley spent as much time with her mom as possible throughout the summer, cherishing every moment they had together.

At the end of August, Tina had called Marley and Kitty, telling them that she and Mike got accepted into Stanford University. _"Even though it's a six hour drive from there to LA, I promise I'll visit you all the time,"_ Tina had said.

A week later, Marley packed her clothes and her other necessary items in her suitcases. She, Jake, and Kitty were set to leave for LA in two days. It was a bittersweet feeling. She was so excited to go back to LA, especially with Jake and Kitty, but she would miss Lima. She would miss going to Breadstix all the time. She would miss the Lima mall to try on clothes for hours and hours with Kitty and Tina. She would miss going to the Lima Bean for her morning coffee. But most importantly, she would miss her mom. She promised her mom that she would come visit during the holidays, and she was going to keep that promise. Still, the feeling of being independent and living on her own excited her. She was ready to become an adult. She couldn't wait.

* * *

Marley, Jake, and Kitty stepped off the plane at LAX, all three of them filled with excitement. They caught a taxi that took them to their new apartment waiting for them.

"This is so exciting!" Kitty squealed as Marley used her new keys to open the front door.

"Home sweet home," Jake said.

Marley finally managed to open the door, and the three of them ran inside. "I call this room!" Kitty shouted. She got out her Britney Spears poster and hung it up on the ceiling. "There," she said, "perfect."

Marley looked around the house. She stopped in the kitchen, which already had most of the appliances in it. She felt Jake's arms snake around her waist and she sighed happily. "This is perfect."

"I know," Jake said. "I'm so happy."

Marley felt tears sting in her eyes. These were happy tears, though. "Me too. This was everything I've always wanted. I never thought in a million years it would ever actually happen. I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Jake chuckled. "No, babe, you're not." He kissed the top of her head. "This is all real."

Marley smiled. "Good. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

Jake grinned back. "Me neither."

* * *

**Stay tuned for the epilogue!**


	17. Epilogue

_10 years later..._

After a successful day at the recording studio, Marley grabbed some coffee and drove home, the delicious smell of chocolate chip cookies greeting her as she walked through the front door. Kitty must be baking, Marley figured. However, it was not her snarky best friend in the kitchen with a pair of oven mitts on; it was her husband.

"Are you baking?" Marley asked Jake in disbelief.

"Yeah." Jake shrugged. "Sophie wanted some cookies, so I decided to bake her some."

As if on cue, their four year old daughter ran in the kitchen and grabbed a finished cookie off the counter. "Yuck." She spit it out instantly. "Daddy, these are gross."

"I might have burnt them in the process," Jake laughed.

"I think maybe next time you should leave the baking to Kitty," Marley giggled. "Oh, by the way, has she found an apartment yet?"

Jake shook his head. "No. I think she was talking about moving in with Emily, though," he said, referring to Kitty's longtime girlfriend.

"Why does Aunt Kitty have to move?" Sophie pouted.

"Because she wants to start her own family too, sweetie. There's just not enough room here." Marley ruffled her daughter's hair.

"Kitty as a mom. Imagine that," Jake mumbled under his breath.

"Soph, why don't you go in your room and play with your Barbies?" Marley suggested.

"Okay, mommy!" Sophie shouted as she ran up the stairs to her room.

Marley smiled and sat down on the couch, thinking back on how everything fell into place.

* * *

Her freshman year at the Los Angeles Academy of Performing Arts had been amazing. She met so many new friends, and really was able to show off her god given talents. Kitty had suggested she put up videos on YouTube of her singing like Justin Bieber did. (_"But you are so much better than him,"_ Kitty had said). So, after over three months of posting singing videos, a music producer finally contacted her, asking her to sing for him in a professional recording studio. Marley, of course, had obliged. She loved every second of it. She felt like she belonged, singing in a recording booth, pouring her heart out in every song. She lived for it.

Jake had been supporting her every step of the way. He had gotten a job as a dance instructor for little kids shortly after school started, and he loved it. It kept him calm and under control. In fact, he hadn't had any sudden mood swings in years.

Things had gotten even better when Marley announced that she was pregnant four years ago. She had long finished school and was on her way to making her second album. She remembered that day so well. It was one of the happiest days of her life.

Sophie Puckerman was brought into the world nine months later. She was the perfect mix of Jake and Marley. She had inherited Marley's gorgeous blue eyes, and her amazing singing voice as well. Little Sophie was always putting on concerts for her parents.

As for Kitty, she got a job working at Macy's, where she met Emily, who was the first girl who actually liked Kitty back in that way. Marley remembered Kitty running home from work one day, shouted from the top of her lungs that she finally had a girlfriend. After ten years, they're still together.

Marley didn't think her life would ever turn out this way. She didn't think she would actually have a husband and a kid, or be on her way to becoming famous. Not that she was famous. _Yet_. She didn't expect to be winning any Grammy's soon, but she did have a couple albums out.

So, life was good. Marley loved being in LA, and she loved being a mom. Occasionally, she and Jake would fly to Lima to visit their families and to go back to all the spots where they used to hang out. Tina kept her promise and made sure to drive down to LA from Stanford on the holidays and long weekends. She and Mike had just found out that she was pregnant with their second child.

As Marley thought back to her days in high school, she remembered how she never thought she and Jake could ever make it work. She was just too different from him. The Jake she was seeing now, though, was a completely different story. He was kind, gentle, and caring. He was no longer broken, or damaged. For the past ten years he had been happy. Happier than Marley could ever imagine. She was positive that Jake would stand by her side for the rest of her life.

Nothing would ever change that.

_The end._

* * *

**So this is the end. Thank you all so so much for following me with this story. Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed. It means the world to me, really. I'm going to start on my next Jarley multi-chaptered fic real soon, so keep your eyes out for that. Love you guys :)**

**xoxo**


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